Last week, I went to a movie showing of The Talented Mr.Ripley, which was based on a book series with the titular character Mr.Ripley. Mr.Ripley in the book series, is a criminal who commits various crimes in the book series. I have never seen the movie before and never even knew Matt Damon, from the Martian, was a part of the movie. However, as part of the movie experience, we attempted to find out the answer whether or not the character commited a murder or manslaughter. The two are often distinct yet many people don’t know the difference between them. Murder is the intent to kill someone, while manslaughter is the accidental death of a person. Manslaughter falls within two categories however, 1st degree and 2nd degree. 1st degree murder involves an actual purpose to cause harm to someone but not actually trying to kill. 2nd degree is causing the death of a person without actually trying to harm someone.

This investigation was mostly led by Judge Miller. Judge Miller provided insight on how the court system works with murder and how they would decide on cases with manslaughter. His insight improved the film and provided more aspect on the areas in the movie. The most fun activity in the film however, was debating on what decided manslaughter and murder within the movie. He split us into defendants and crime attorneys in order to make a character spend their life in prison or just a few years in prison for his actions.