Clyde Shelton (
Gerard Butler), a
Philadelphia engineer, witnesses the rape and murder of both his wife and five-year old daughter at the hands of Clarence J. Darby (
Christian Stolte) and accomplice Rupert Ames (
Josh Stewart), leaving Shelton emotionally scarred. He is told by career-minded
prosecutor Nick Rice (
Jamie Foxx) that the case was compromised by a bungled
forensic investigation and Shelton's testimony cannot incriminate either man because he blacked out during the incident. Rice, interested in maintaining his 96% conviction rate, makes a deal with Darby: in return for pleading guilty to
third-degree murder, he will provide testimony that will send Ames to
death row for what is, essentially, a robbery charge. Shelton is left feeling betrayed.
Ten years later, Ames is executed via
lethal injection. Due to an alteration in the chemicals, he dies in agonizing pain. Initial evidence leads to Darby, who is alerted to approaching police by a mysterious caller who tells him where a
pistol he can use to his advantage is. The caller tells him if he wants to escape the police, he will come to where he is. Upon realizing the caller is Shelton, Darby tries to shoot him with the pistol, only to be discover it is a trick gun, injecting him with
tetrodotoxin,
paralyzing him, but leaving him fully conscious. After restraining him and making preparations to ensure his prolonged awareness, Shelton slowly tortures and dismembers Darby, saying the words Darby told him 10 years before: "You can't fight fate." It is later revealed that Darby was found in 25 pieces, and after an investigation, Rice and his team suspect Shelton.
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Convicted killer forced to donate millions
