Crime ideas, anyone?

[magycmyste]

Ok, I need a bit of brainstorming power here. I have a short story that’s almost ready to write, but one of the two main characters needs development. It will be a futuristic story (not certain how futuristic – could be 10, 20 years in the future, could be 500). The character in question has committed a crime, and is on Death Row (or whatever the futuristic cultural equivalent of that is.) He’s pretty much sitting in a cell during the story, having a conversation with his executioner.
 
I’m trying to decide what his crime was, and what his job/life was beforehand. It needs to be something that would merit/require a private execution (or, another thought would be to have all executions in this place be private, because the population has gotten to the point where they don’t want to see executions anymore. And also, the executions have gotten…. softer (sort of), as a result of people protesting for more humane executions. Votes, anyone?). So far, the only idea I’ve come up with is that he found out some government secret, and they want to get rid of him privately, so he won’t tell anyone. Except, I’m not wanting to copy Serenity (At this point, the word “Miranda” starts echoing in my head).
 
Facts about the prisoner: He is intelligent, and probably has a challenging job. He has a wife and kids. Yeah…. That’s about all I’ve got.
 
Any ideas? Anything at all?

Comments

[paganpaul]

The 'soft executions' reminded me of an ancient StarTrek episode where a race had devised a 'clean war'.

For a private execution I would think there has to be a crime in the private atmosphere. A murder for instance, and the family of the victim wants to be present.

Other idea: he discovered some plot against the government and eliminated a key figure of movement X after which he was set up by the others of group X, painting him as the key figure and delivering him to the law. Gov't wants to keep the plot silent (embarrassing or so), so they go the private road. His job could further incriminate him, being a gov't official with access to information interesting to movement X. One or more of group X could be real officials that can plant evidence against him.

Maybe this helps some...

[magycmyste]

Well, the executioner is a poison girl (girl bred on poisonous substances from childhood, so her touch can kill you - for this, I'm actually going with her touch could make you start breathing shallowly or throw up, repeated touches are more severe, sex is....... well, the victims would never know, anyway. I'm actually not sure if that qualifies as "softer" or not). I haven't actually watched any of Trek yet besides a couple of movies, so I don't know how the "clean" war compares.

I think I'm still leaning toward the secret government execution. I've seen poison girls in various places before, and they make really good assassins, but I'm starting to see her as a sort of secret government-mad-scientist project.

I'm liking the group X plot idea, though. Either that, or the govt. conspiring with group X and making him a scapegoat. I'm leaning towards making him semi-heroic, or at least a sympathetic character, someone who really probably doesn't deserve to be on death row.

[paganpaul]

The poison girls remind me of the chinese "5 touch death" where someone is touched with something poisonous without noticing, each time it is stronger. It does what you described: the victim gets weaker and dies on the day of the last touch.

Good luck with your plot!

[magycmyste]

Thanks!

[miss_haitch]

Re: the choice of crime, how sympathetic do you want the main character to be? Is he a hero or anti-hero, or somewhere in between?

[magycmyste]

I'm leaning towards hero, or at least a sympathetic character, maybe an innocent who got caught up in something without knowing it.

Granted, I'm not so attached to that idea yet that I wouldn't toss it if it seems like he'd make a better bad guy.

[bliumchik]

Is there a reason he can't be falsely accused the way some modern prisoners are? Just in the wrong place at the wrong time?

[magycmyste]

Not particularly. There are a lot of possibilities here - I'm mostly having issues narrowing them down. Framing's a good idea. Mostly, I'm just thinking that it ought to be something where it's actually pretty unfair for him to be there.

It's really the "what" I'm looking for here. I think if Ican figure out what he did (or didn't do) that the rest of the conversation, and the story can flow from there.

Thanks!

[bliumchik]

Yeah, the kind of murder where he'd have had a motive and the other person with a motive is too politically connected for the police to pay more than cursory attention to would work.