Reason First: When the Sins of the Father DON’T Fall on the Son-Woody Harrelson’s Hit Man Dad

Woody Harrelson had the misfortune of being the child of a contract killer. Though his father did not play a significant role in his upbringing, Woody would still be associated with him in later years. The famous actor, once he learned of his father’s placement behind the wall, used his wealth from his screen roles to seek justice for his father.

Each year, he would visit with his father until his dad’s death day on March 15, 2007. From where did all of these malicious actions that got him locked up stem in Charles V. Harrelson?

This hit man murdered a grain dealer named Sam Degelia for $2,000. This all occurred in 1968. After an initial hung jury, it would be six years for a jury to find Harrelson guilty. An original sentence etched fifteen years against him but he only served five of those years in Fort Leavenworth.

In the year 1979, Harrelson was home again.

An Arab drug dealer named Jimmy Chagra asked Harrelson to murder 63-year-old Judge John “Maximum John” Howland Wood. He acquired this moniker because of his emphatic pursuit of locking up guilty convicts.

Equipped with a high-powered rifle, Harrelson laid down the judge making history. He had killed the first federal judge in the annals of American justice. Chagra became certain that he would be put away for a significant amount of time if the judge had survived in good health.

After an extensive manhunt in FBI history, Harrelson denied the fact that he had shot the judge. He said that he had just told Chagra that he did the misdeed to receive the quarter million dollars.

In all, Harrelson would be sentenced to two life sentences. In 2003, after the system set him free, Chagra claimed that Harrelson did not assassinate the judge. No names issued from Chagra’s mouth. However, Harrelson died of a heart attack while locked up in a supermax prison in Florida at age 68.

The madness involved in this case is a result of the distinction between the father and the son. The former had no purpose in life and lived as a brute. His son Woody made a name for himself carrying his father’s surname as an acclaimed Hollywood actor.

Charles Harrelson went about his days as a monster who caused death and destruction. Woody Harrelson continues to make comedic and dramatic turns in roles large and small, for the big screen and the little one.

This dichotomy separating the two Harrelson’s paints a portrait of how life should and shouldn’t be lived. If an individual wishes to lead a life of bitterness, malice, and drifting, then Charles was the model for such an existence. But if one cherishes values, then Woody is the example of how good life can be.

Though Charles had essentially been absent in Woody’s childhood, the star actor would still maintain that his father deserved a fair shot in the case that landed him behind bars.

The both of them put together is a juxtaposition of evil and good. It’s that simple. The sinister hand of Charles against the productive and moral hand of his son lie lightyears apart.

Had reason guided Charles’ life he may still be alive and enjoying millions of dollars, a beautiful family, and a formal education from an institution of higher learning like Woody. No. Without reason and individualism he did not function as a proper human being.

Woody Harrelson continues to command roles because he knows that he is the complete opposite of his wayward father. He knows that rationality and selfishness would have saved his father from experiencing years locked in a cage.

What is so distressing is the waste of life that Charles exhibited. Woody must’ve been motivated to not be anything like his father. This probably saved his life.