What would have happened to the character played by Forest Whitaker in Panic Room?

Question

In the 2002 film Panic Room, directed by David Fincher, Forest Whitaker plays a burglar named Burnham that shows signs of being a good man. In the thrilling climax of the movie he is seen all set to escape with the money but comes back to save the life of Jodie Foster's character Meg Altman. This endagers his own safety as he is quickly caught by the Police thereafter.

In the last scene we see Meg and her daughter Sarah sitting on a park bench looking for a new house in the newspaper, but there is no mention of that guy.

As I remember, in one scene of the movie another burglar says to Burnham "I want that money, but you, you need it".

So after the movie was over I thought for sometime, what would have happened to Burnham?

Answer 1

I'd imagine that he would have been convicted on several different charges. An accessory to murder & B&E at least. Maybe even murder for the guy at the end, not to mention accessory to aggravated assault for the attack on the ex husband.

A lot would depend on how good a lawyer he got! I'm sure he could claim he had to kill the last guy to save Jodie Fosters Character, and that he was forced to do some of the stuff because Raoul had a gun.

Basically even though he showed some signs of being a man with conscious, he's going to jail for a long time!

Answer 2

The fact he went back to help would be offered in mitigation but he, as we saw, is guilty of several criminal acts and nothing can change that.

He might claim that he complied under threat but the police rarely believe this and he would have a very hard time convincing a judge. Maybe the girls will lie to try to help him but it is unlikely that they will fool the court much tbh. They might even get in trouble for trying.

Answer 3

He would have gone to prison for a while. However compliance could reduce centre with evidence used from the fact that Raoul had already shot the other burglar.