Them whores could occupy the courtroom and get Ned off with sexually suggestive maneuverings before the jury (all men I'd imagine because women had no rights then) He might even be Death Penalty elligable in some states. Ned would be serving 25-Life in all 50 states had this occurred in the modern era. He was caught attempting to cross state lines with the murder weapon (accessory after the fact) He was standing right next to his partner who pulled the trigger (did nothing to stop the murder) He has provided the murder weapon (Spencer rifle) for the sniper attack on the young cowboy He crossed state lines to reach Big Whiskey to serve as a Hitman to cash in on a bounty (premeditated 1st degree murder) Ned hires William Munney to be his partner in a Contract Killing of 2 men (architect of the crime) In a modern court, Ned's guilty of Felony Murder / Accessory to 1st Degree murder. Little Bill was a bad man handing out justice to suit his whim. Ned wasn’t there to buy groceries or vacation.
At that point it doesn’t matter who pulled what trigger. He was one of the party that shot one man on the shitter and gutshot another and left him to die.
Ned came to Big Whiskey to kill cowboys and collect money. He killed a contract killer and outlaw, who at some point during this contract killing decided to bail out. He kilt an innocent man (having decided to go home to his wife) to extract information on Munny. If so, it looks like he was right.Īs for crooked, he wasn’t any more so than anyone else… Or maybe he knew the mayhem that would result in a bunch of contract killers showing up looking for whores’ gold, and was willing to do anything to try and avoid it. He was the tyranny that the second amendment is meant to be used against. He ran a criminal enterprise that just happened to wear badges. He was gonna keep those hoes down and those cowpokes protected. Little Bill was the final authority in that role. Little Bill was a thug with a gun and a badge, seeking to impose his will on everybody.
He could drive nails, but the idea of structural integrity evaded him. Little Bill was as crooked as that house he built. He wasn't a saint but he wasn't a tyrant. The Hackman character didn't seem to be taking advantage of the townsfolk. In Unforgiven the good guy lost and is a good example of how life isn't fair and good doesn't always triumph evil. Gene Hackman's character in all reality was the good guy in the movie, he was the town marshal, he was keeping the peace by keeping out bad men like William Munney. He gutshot a boy for being with a guy that cut up a whore. He was a thief and generally a very bad person. William Munney was a murderer of men, women, and children. Clint Eastwood was good at making his character look like the good guy, when he was really the bad guy.