Killing v. Murdering

Trailer for Open Range

This morning I watched Open Range.  This is a good cowboy movie made in 2003.  Kevin Costner is the impetus behind it.  There is violence, but how do you make a cowboy movie without a gunfight?

It's good guys against the bad guys.  The good guys are Boss, Charley, Mose, and Button.  The action begins when Mose is beaten up while in town.  Mose is a big guy and I have observed from my volunteering with "my cloistered brothers" that there's an inordinate number of big guys in prison. Another observation is that these big men are very gentle.  My theory is that small men (and I mean small self-esteem) deliberately pick on big guys to see if they can "take them."  Unfortunately, some end up dead and the big guy goes to prison.

Anyway, back on topic: to avenge Mose's assault, Boss and Charley go after the bad guys.  While they are away, more bad guys come and kill Mose, and leave Button for dead.

After burying Mose, Boss and Charley bring Button to a doctor in town.  This is where the action takes place.  There's the usual romance but that's not my subject.  During the inevitable "show down," Charley wounds one of the bad guys.  The bad guy tries to crawl away.  He has no weapon and is just an open target, lying on the ground.  Charley goes over to him and raises his gun to shoot him.  Boss says "Don't".

"Don't, because you're not a murderer."  Charley looks around at the carnage he caused in the shoot out.  Charley wonders what Boss is getting at.  He just killed all these bad guys.  Boss explains that the gunfight was kill or be killed--like war, but shooting a wounded unarmed man lying stretched out before you would be murder.

And Charley is not a murderer.  He turns around.

Interestingly, Boss is faced with the same situation.  However, while he also chooses not to be a murderer, he does so for maleficent reasons.  His opponent is also helpless in front of him, shot multiple times.  Boss takes out his gun and places it on the man's forehead.  But then he raises it and says, "No, I don't want to put you out of your misery.  I want you to suffer.  Bleed out."

What's the difference?  Intent.  Who's more culpable?