Death Sentence

In “Death Sentence” Nick Hume (KEVIN BACON) is an Everyman with a stable, comfortable life. He goes to work every day at his middle-management job at an insurance company. He goes home every night to his beautiful wife, Helen (KELLY PRESTON), and his two teenage sons, Brendan (STUART LAFFERTY) and Lucas (JORDAN GARRETT). The Humes are a middle-class family who are the epitome of suburban bliss. And Nick is content. He pitches in with chores around the house. He relishes the intimacy he shares with Helen. She is his confidant and equal. And he is very involved in his boys’ lives. Brendan, the eldest son, is confident and headstrong. He is popular, he is an athlete and he is on his way to college to begin a promising life of his own. Lucas looks up to his brother, but is cognizant of the shadow Brendan casts. Lucas still hasn’t found himself, and he feels a little left out because of the adoration given to Brendan. All in all, the Humes are a typical all-American family; morally upright and humble. And then one day, their perfect life comes to a screeching halt. One night when Nick is driving Brendan home from a hockey game, he stops for gas. While he is filling up the tank on the family car, Brendan goes inside to get a drink. Moments later, a gang of thugs enter the store in ski masks, armed with various weapons. But it is not your typical convenience store robbery: this is a rite of passage for Joe Darley (MATTHEW O’LEARY), the younger brother of Billy Darley (GARRETT HEDLUND), the ruthless street leader of the gang. After terrorizing and killing the store clerk, they turn their attention to Brendan. It is at that moment when Nick turns from the pump and looks inside the store, only to witness Joe deliver the fateful blow that ends all of the promise of Brendan’s future, and leaves him lying in a pool of blood as the gang begins to flee. But when Nick runs to help his son, he clashes with Joe and they fall to the ground. Joe is unmasked, and his own future marked. Joe is arrested, but despite assurances from the lead investigator, Detective Wallis (AISHA TYLER), the system ultimately fails the Humes and Joe is put back on the street. Driven by a heightened sense of justice and keen grief, Nick takes matters into his own hands by seeking out his son’s killer. In his confrontation with Joe, Nick finds himself at the mercy of his emotions and ultimately kills him. Unsure what to do, Nick runs back to the life that has always been his shelter: his wife, his surviving son and his job. Nick thinks that all is at an end; an imperfect resolution to a horrible tragedy, but fitting. Except there is blood, now, on Nick’s hands and it will not come off … Billy Darley is on the prowl, and the stage is set for a violent exchange that only escalates with each pounding beat of their hearts. How far will Nick go to protect his family? How far will Billy go to protect his own?