Murder in the First is a 1995 American legal drama film, directed by Marc Rocco, written by Dan Gordon, and starring Christian Slater, Kevin Bacon, Gary Oldman, Embeth Davidtz, Brad Dourif, William H. Macy, and R. Lee Ermey. It tells the alternate history of a petty criminal named Henri Young who is sent to Alcatraz Federal Penitentiary and later put on trial for murder in the first degree as the lawyer representing him recounts Henri's life and when he represented Henri. This film was described on the movie poster as "the case that took down Alcatraz". The film received a mixed critical response, although Bacon's performance was praised by critics.

As a 17-year-old orphan, Henri Young went into a grocery store where he was denied work. This leads him to steal $5.00 from a grocery store to feed himself and his little sister Rosetta, both of whom are destitute. He is apprehended by the shopkeeper and arrested by the police while Rosetta is sent to an orphanage. Because that grocery store also housed a U.S. Post Office, his crime is upgraded to a federal offense. Young never sees Rosetta again and is sentenced to Leavenworth Penitentiary, Kansas.

Years later, Henri was transferred to Alcatraz. He gets oppressed by associate prison warden Milton Glenn. Henri participates in an escape attempt with two other prisoners Rufus McCain and Arthur Barker.

The escape plan fails due to the betrayal of McCain. Barker is killed by the guards and Glenn punishes Young by having him sent to "the hole", which is in Alcatraz's dungeons as he and Warden James Humson do a press conference proving that Alcatraz is inescapable. Glenn also had Henri tortured where he was struck in the back with a club, thrown down the stairs at one point, striking his face with a blackjack, and left naked in the hole at one point. Glenn even used a straight razor on his ankle to induce a hobble on Henri. Except for 30 minutes on Christmas Day in 1940, he is left in there for three years. The solitary confinement causes Young to lose his sanity.

On release back to the general population, he experiences a psychotic episode in the prison cafeteria and attacks McCain, stabbing him to death with a spoon in full view of the prison staff and the other convicts.

Young is put on trial in San Francisco for first degree murder in what district attorney William McNeil and the public defender's office run by Mr. Henkin believe is an open-and-shut case. Public defender James Stamphill, a recent graduate of Harvard Law School, is given the case. After discovering the facts of Young's case, Stamphill attempts to put Alcatraz on trial by alleging that its harsh conditions drove him insane with his motives causing the dismay of Mr. Henkin, Stamphill's co-worker Mary McCasslin, and Stamphill's brother Byron. During one of his visits, Stamphill brought pleasure to Young by bringing in a prostitute named Blanche.

The trial overseen by Judge Clawson becomes highly politicized and contentious. Glenn denied any mistreatment of Young claiming that he's not the villain here as Stamphill mentioned that anyone who went mad at Alcatraz was removed and never made it to the asylum. As Stamphill questioned ex-guard Derek Simpson who admitted that Glenn had him partake in the torture, McNeil objects because Simpson was fired because he was drunk. This causes Clawson to have the jury disregard Simpson's testimony as Stamphill later blamed Byron for that outcome. Stamphill also held Humson accountable for not being present during Glenn's actions towards Young, claiming that Humson never interacted with Young once as Humson claims that he runs two other prisons.

At one point in between the trial, Stamphill managed to track down Rosetta and brought her to visit Henri. He learns that Rosetta is doing alright and has named her baby after him.

Young tells Stamphill that he wants to change the plea to guilty as he would rather be dead than be sent back to Alcatraz. Young is convicted of involuntary manslaughter and not first-degree murder as the jury recommends that Alcatraz should undergo a federal investigation as they also find Alcatraz, Humson, and Glenn guilty of crimes against humanity. Stamphill tells Young that he will appeal to have him sent to another prison and see if he can reopen Young's original case. Stamphill's narration states that this would be the last time he saw Young alive as he would later be found dead in his cell where he had "victory" written on the walls and he did not die in vain. Young is returned to Alcatraz and put in "the hole" on Glenn's orders with Young claiming that he still won either way as the inmates bang on the cells.

As Young is taken to "the hole", Stamphill's narration states that the Supreme Court agreed with the facts of the trial six month later which led to the dungeons of Alcatraz being closed forever. Glenn was charged for mistreatment. He would be found guilty and never work in the US penal system again. While noting that he still remained in the private practice, Stamphill in his narration thanked Young for making him a baseball fan and concludes his narration by stating "You did it, Henri"!

A postscript states that Alcatraz as a prison was closed down forever in 1963. It remains a tourist attraction that has been visited by a million tourists.

The men on the street were portrayed by Bill Barretta, Randy Dudly, William Hall, Sheldon Feldner, Fred Franklin, and Joseph Lucas.

The film was released on January 20, 1995, in 1,237 theaters in the U.S. and Canada and grossed $4,719,188 in its opening weekend. The film went on to gross $17,381,942 in the U.S. and Canada and $29.5 million worldwide^[2] against a $20 million budget.^[1]

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Murder in the First has a score of 54% based on reviews from 39 critics. The site's consensus states: "Despite a strong cast and story inspired by incredible real-life events, Murder in the First is strictly second rate."^[14]

Though Bacon received praise for his performance,^[15][16] critics negatively cited the film's handheld camera shots, scenes of brutality, and underdeveloped characters.^[15][17][18] Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote, "'Murder in the First' lacks an all-important core of emotion. It tries to find it in the growing friendship between the lawyer and the client on trial for murder, with scenes of the lawyer trying to draw the convict out — and of the two men talking freely. But the friendship never seems more than a device."^[15]

Roger Ebert gave the film two out of four stars, and said Slater "is an actor with talent, but he is too young for this role, and not confident enough to dial [his performance] down a little".^[19] Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly wrote, "when Henri’s moment in court finally arrives, Murder in the First denies us the one thing we most want to hear: an account of how his ordeal felt from the inside out. The film’s true drama — what it does to a person to live in hell — remains locked up in Henri’s head".^[18]

Screenwriter Dan Gordon, who was unhappy with the film version of his script, wrote a novelization of his screenplay and later adapted it into a stage play.^[20]

Kevin Bacon won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Actor^[21] and was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role.^[22]