A Time To Kill (1996) Matthew McConaughey Jack Brigance Sandra Bullock Ellen Roark Samuel L. Jackson Carl Lee Hailey Kevin Spacey Rufus Buckley Oliver Platt Harry Rex Vonner Charles S. Dutton Sheriff Ozzie Walls Brenda Fricker Ethel Twitty Donald Sutherland Lucien Wilbanks Kiefer Sutherland Freddie Cobb Patrick McGoohan Judge Omar Noose Ashley Judd Carla Brigance Tonea Stewart Gwen Hailey Rae Ven Larrymore Kelly Tonya Hailey Darrin Mitchell Skip Hailey LaConte McGrew Slim Hailey Devin Lloyd Willie Hailey John Diehl Tim Nunley Chris Cooper Deputy Looney Nicky Katt Billy Ray Cobb Doug Hutchison Pete Willard Kurtwood Smith Stump Sisson M. Emmet Walsh Willard Tyrell Bass Tim Parati Winston Directed by: Joel Schumacher Produced by: Arnon Milchan, Michael Nathanson, Hunt Lowry Old ways die hard... and even now in the fast-changing American South, some old ways die harder than others. It's the lesson learned by Carl Lee Hailey, a Mississippi factory worker, when his ten-year-old daughter is brutally assaulted by two racist thugs on a drunken spree. It's the lesson learned by eager young lawyer Jake Brigance, called upon to defend Carl Lee in court after Hailey shoots both men in an act of passionate retribution for the shattered innocence of his little girl. And it's the lesson learned by Ellen Roark, an energetic, ambitious and razor-sharp Boston-born law student at "Ole Miss." As Jake fights to defend Carl Lee, his own life and the safety of his family and colleagues become increasingly jeopardized. And now, as a full-scale conflagration simmers just below the surface and threatens to explode in this small, Southern community, Jake and Carl Lee must find a way to transcend their fundamental differences and work together for the same cause... equal justice. ========== The story of a black man's struggle for justice for himself and his family in America today. After Carl Lee's 10-year-old daughter, Tonya is brutally raped he recalls the case of "four white boys who raped a black girl over in Delta last year." He asks attorney Jake Brigance, "They got off, didn't they?" Jake nods his head. Determined to see that the two rapists get what's coming to them, Carl Lee takes the law into his own hands and guns them down in cold blood inside the courthouse on the day of their arraignments. Young Jake, struggling to keep his law practice afloat, suddenly finds himself defending Carl Lee against murder charges a not-so-popular position with some of the locals in Clanton, Mississippi. Ellen Roark, a stellar law student from Ole Miss, offers her services to Jake just for the opportunity to help with the case and eventually convinces him to take her on. In the meantime, the K.K.K. (at the prompting of a brother of one of the rapists) plants burning crosses on Jake's lawn, attempts to bomb his house, and takes a shot at him. To ensure their safety, Jake sends his wife and little daughter to Gulfport to stay with his in-laws. As tension in Canton reaches fever pitch and the N.A.A.C.P. and K.K.K. riot on the courthouse lawn, a different kind of tension rises between Jake and Ellen. ========== When Tonya Hailey, an innocent little African-American girl is raped and beaten by 2 beer-guzzling rednecks, the town of Clanton, Mississippi is shocked. Her father Carl Lee Hailey is outraged, and figuring he could not see those boys set free, decides to take justice into his own hands and kills them in the court house, in front of numerous witnesses. Now it up to Jake Brigance to get Carl Lee off the hook. He has people that help him, but he is up against tough D.A. Rufus Buckley. Will he be able to prove that a black man can get a fair trial in Mississippi? ========== A young, attractive and highly-skilled attorney is faced with the toughest case of his life, one that on many occasions may also threaten it. In the southern Mississippi town of Clanton, the K.K.K. is active and the tension is high when the black majority is angered at the rape and beating of a black man's 10-year-old daughter. Against Jake's advice, the distraught father takes revenge, gunning down the two criminals in the local courthouse. Racial hatred heightens with the suspense and conflict threatens to break out regardless of the verdict. Jake must decide, along with his new, eager assistant whether he and his family can run the risk of defending the man.