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Needless to say, Kevin intentionally caused quite a bit
of bodily harm to both Harry and Marv, for example.
(shoe squeaks) (yells)
(playful music)
- Hello. (gun fires)
(yelling)
- You could argue that Kevin McCallister
is a criminal mastermind up there with
Jigsaw and Martha Stewart.
- Keep the change, you filthy animal.
(dramatic music)
(upbeat music)
Hey Legal Eagles and welcome back to Laws Broken,
where an attorney destroys your favorite
childhood movies by showing you how illegal everything is,
because everything is illegal.
Now I'm sure most of you have seen Home Alone
at one time or another.
You know, it's the heartwarming holiday movie
where Macaulay Culkin AKA Kevin McCallister
gets left behind by his 25-person family
right before Christmas and then has to fight off
a pair of criminals who are determined to rob his house
and kill him, you know, the typical
heartwarming family Christmas movie.
Or at the very least, Kids Die Hard.
Now obviously, Harry and Marv,
AKA the Wet Bandits are criminals.
We'll go into great detail about their criminal exploits,
but is it possible that other characters
may be far more sinister than the Wet Bandits?
Is it possible that Harry and Marv simply had the misfortune
to stumble upon a nefarious criminal enterprise
already in progress?
Well let's start by examining perhaps
the true criminals of this holiday movie,
the worst parents in the world, Mr. and Mrs. McCallister.
- Kevin!
- Now as we all know, the power goes out
at the McCallister residence the night before
they're scheduled for an international flight to Paris,
and when they wake up in the morning,
they rush to get to the plane with only 45 minutes
before their plane takes off, and once on the plane,
Kevin's mom famously says.
- Hope we didn't forget anything.
- Unfortunately, Kevin's parents have left him home alone.
- I made my family disappear.
- No, Kevin didn't make his parents disappear,
they abandoned him.
- What kind of mother am I?
- If it makes you feel any better,
I forgot my reading glasses.
- And I'm sure many of you feel for the McCallisters
and realize it's not that easy to keep track
of so many kids, but in reality,
both Mr. and Mrs. McCallister could be found guilty
of either child abandonment or child endangerment.
A person commits child abandonment when he or she
as a parent, guardian, or other person having
physical custody or control of a child
without regard for the mental or physical health,
safety, or welfare of that child,
knowingly leaves that child who is under the age of 13
without supervision by a responsible person
over the age of 14 for a period of 24 hours or more.
Now here, Kevin is a mere eight years old,
five years younger than the minimum age
under the child abandonment statute, and is left alone
all by himself without any kind of supervision.
- Guys, I'm eating junk and watching rubbish,
you better come out and stop me.
- Now I'm sure the McCallisters would argue that
they didn't knowingly leave Kevin all alone,
it was just a horrible mistake.
- Did you count heads?
- 11 including me, five boys, six girls,
four parents, two drivers, and a partridge in a pear tree.
- Now unfortunately for the McCallisters,
getting stuck on the plane and eventually the airport
in Paris doesn't necessarily help them all that much.
It might drop the charge down from child abandonment
to just simply negligent parenting,
but the bottom line is that Kevin was probably
home alone for multiple days without any supervision.
Such abandonment could amount to
a class four felony in Illinois.
I mean, Kevin is a small child who can't even
pack his own suitcase.
- He's what the French call (speaking in foreign language).
- And what's worse is Kevin's parent could also be
found guilty of child endangerment
for leaving him all alone.
In Illinois, a person who causes or permits a child
to be placed in a situation which endangers
the child's life or health could be
guilty of a Class A misdemeanor.
So maybe next time, the McCallisters should keep track
of where their children are, or, ya know,
set multiple alarms so they're not late for their flight.
And by the way, stick around until the end of this video
where I give a verdict for how long everyone,
including Kevin's parents, are going to jail.
But that takes us to the most traditional
criminal wrongdoers in this whole affair,
the so-called Wet Bandits themselves, Harry and Marv.
- Crowbars up.
(bars clink)
- Now of course, Harry starts off the movie strong
by dressing up like a police officer.
Quite clearly, Harry is impersonating a police officer
to get some inside intel on the McCallisters' holiday plans.
That is that they'll be out of town during the holidays,
leaving the perfect opportunity for a career burglar
to break in and take whatever the McCallisters have.
- You're taking a trip to Paris?
- Yes, we have to leave tomorrow morning.
- Excellent.
- Now, the McCallisters live in Winnetka, Illinois,
and Illinois, as in any other jurisdiction
in the United States, it is completely illegal
to impersonate a police officer.
In Illinois, this particular criminal offense
is called False Personation.
It can get you up to three years in prison,
among other sentences, so think about that
next time you and your friends decide to
dress up as the fuzz for Halloween.
- That's a good idea.
- So now with all of this fraudulently acquired
information about when all the neighbors
are going to leave town, Harry and Marv sit down
and conveniently conspire to commit burglary,
criminal trespass, and grand larceny.
- Check it out, all the houses with nobody home
have automatic timers on their lights,
and I got it all figured out, watch this.
Now.
- Because Marv has entered into a conspiracy with Harry,
he's now on the hook for all of the crimes
that Harry has committed in furtherance of this conspiracy,
so that means Marv is also now on the hook
for criminal personation.
As part of that criminal conspiracy,
Harry and Marv attempt to burgle the McCallister house,
but are only thwarted at the last minute
when they get spooked by Kevin.
- Get the hell out of here.
One, two, 10. (firecrackers popping)
- And although Harry and Marv are temporarily
dissuaded from robbing the McCallister house,
they lick their wounds and simply drive down the road
to then burgle some other neighbor's house instead.
Clearly another example of grand larceny,
but because they are the eponymous Wet Bandits,
they can't help themselves but clog up the sinks
in the house to cause wanton destruction of property.
So again, even though it's only Marv
that is committing this felonious act,
both of them are on the hook
for intentional destruction of property.
These people won't be back for days,
and the Wet Bandits have struck,
leaving their house in shambles.
Now in between their various burglaries,
the two could probably also be convicted of stalking.
In Illinois, if someone simply engages in a course
of conduct which they know would cause the target
or person to fear for their safety,
they may be guilty of stalking,
and here Harry and Marv are driving around the neighborhood
in the creepy work van following little Kevin McCallister
in probably such a way that would cause him
to fear for his safety.
(tires squeal) (Kevin screams)
And finally, after Harry and Marv's attempt
to burgle the McCallisters as Kevin gets the best of them,
they attempt to serious maim or kill Kevin
for all of his traps.
(dramatic music)
- Hiya pal.
We outsmarted you this time.
- But luckily, they get bashed in the head
by a kid old man.
(shovel bangs) (groans)
Wait.
Now given the severity of what Harry says
he's going to do to Kevin.
- What are we gonna do to him, Harry?
- Do exactly what he did to us.
Gonna burn his head with a blow torch.
- And given that he is in the heat of the moment,
this is probably attempted second degree murder.
But now let's talk about how Harry and Marv
found themselves in this situation.
Let's talk about the criminal liability
of little Kevin McCallister, AKA the Puppet Master.
(dramatic music)
(gun cocks)
Like most criminals, Kevin starts off small.
He starts off the movie by assaulting his older brother Buzz
simply for some harmless taunting.
- Did anyone order me a plain cheese?
- Oh yeah we did, but if you want any,
somebody's gonna have to barf it all up.
(yelling)
- Then having acquired a taste for blood,
Kevin moves on to the wanton destruction
of Buzz's property and theft.
(playful music)
(shelf clatters) (Kevin yells)
Now arguably this wasn't done intentionally,
so perhaps the destruction of property gets knocked down
to simply negligent destruction of property,
but he's very clearly stealing from his older brother.
- [Kevin] All right, Buzz's life savings.
- And to add insult to injury,
the heartless (bleep) then taunts Buzz's girlfriend.
- Buzz, your girlfriend, woof.
- Now having been emboldened by petty theft,
Kevin moves on to some public shoplifting.
- [Clerk] Wait son, you have to pay for that toothbrush.
Son, son, hey!
- And while Kevin seems like the victim
in this situation, I assure you he is not.
- Shoplifter!
(gasps) (tense music)
- And although Kevin didn't quite intend
to take the toothbrush when he ran out of the store,
one could argue that he's guilty of what's called
retail theft under Illinois law
because he knowingly carried the toothbrush
away from him and away from the store.
- I'm a criminal.
- But all of those offenses were simply
baby town frolics and preparation for the main event.
Can Kevin McCallister really create
a nightmare house of booby traps
to punish Harry and Marv for the
attempts to burgle his own house?
Well, in Illinois, in the absence of any defenses,
one is guilty of battery and probably assault as well
if they cause bodily harm to an individual.
Needless to say, Kevin intentionally caused quite a bit
of bodily harm to both Harry and Marv, for example.
(shoe squeaks) (yelling)
(glass shatters) (yelling)
(iron bangs) (grunts)
(skin sizzles) (yelling)
You could argue that Kevin McCallister
is a criminal mastermind up there with
Jigsaw and Martha Stewart.
- Look what you did, you little jerk.
- I'm sorry.
- Now if convicted of battery, Kevin could receive
up to a year in jail for each attempt,
though that sentence would probably be modified
since he's a juvenile who wouldn't likely
be tried as an adult.
Though the complexity of these death traps
does evidence an adult-like temperament
if not straight-up psychosis.
- You guys give up or you thirsty for more?
- However, thankfully for Kevin,
Illinois statutes allow for both self-defense
and defense of the home.
That means that in certain cases,
one can use physical force to defend themselves
against another or to defend their property.
So long as Kevin reasonably believes
that force was necessary to defend himself
and his gigantic family's home,
he could get off scot free.
Though I think everyone knows that
the better course of action is simply call the police
instead of rigging your house with death traps.
- Marv.
- Harry?
- Why the hell did you take your shoes off?
- Why the hell are you dressed like a chicken?
- Now the defense of self defense and defense of property
generally applies to the non-deadly traps,
but does it apply to everything?
(rock music)
Of course, we love to talk about the use of deadly force
on this channel, here most of the traps in question
are arguably not inherently deadly.
(fan whirs)
But some of those traps are as deadly as they get.
I mean, those paint cans could crush your skull.
- Heads up!
(grunts)
(yells)
- And that's a flamethrower.
(yelling)
So generally speaking, a person can use
non-deadly force against another
when he or she reasonably believes that is necessary
to prevent or terminate another's unlawful entry
into or attack onto a dwelling.
Now under Illinois law, a person can only use
deadly force if an entry to the house is made
in a violent, riotous, or tumultuous manner,
and there is a reasonable belief that the force is necessary
to prevent an assault or personal violence
against the victor or another in the dwelling,
or if the person reasonably believes the force
is necessary to prevent a felony from being committed.
So this that standard met?
Well, Marv and Harry enter multiple times,
sometimes quietly.
(tapping)
- We know that you're in there,
and that you're all alone.
- Sometimes in ways that might be considered
violent, riotous, or tumultuous.
(dramatic music)
(clattering)
- Where are you, you little creep?
- And by the way, if you want to know what happened
in the real-life case of when someone rigged up
a shotgun booby trap in their own house,
check out the link in the description
to the animated true crime video that I just did
about the case of the shotgun booby trap.
The link is in the description.
So we know that the first element for use of deadly force
is probably met under these circumstances,
but when you're talking about entering into the house,
a few of you real legal eagles out there
are probably thinking about the duty to retreat,
because at common law, you can't use deadly force
if you have the ability to retreat safely.
And some states have passed so-called castle
or stand your ground laws that reverse the common law rule
and allow you to use deadly force
whether you can safely retreat or not, and Illinois,
as it happens, doesn't have a stand your ground law,
but it does have a castle law.
So to the extent that Kevin is using deadly force
in self defense in his own home,
he does not have a duty to retreat
and he can use deadly force in self defense.
- Keep the change, you filthy animal.
- But that complicates things because
Kevin eventually leaves his own house,
and so having retreated from his home,
he can no longer use deadly force to defend himself,
because he can retreat safely.
So cutting Harry and Marv down is arguably battery,
if not attempted murder,
given how high they are up in the air.
- Hey guys, check this out.
(yelling)
- The little psychopath has really grown up.
- Keep the change, you filthy animal.
- Now before we tally up all the sentences,
let's spend a moment to examine the little crimes
that are just too small to go into any particular detail,
like the pizza boy's destruction of property
and reckless driving.
(statue clatters)
Uncle Frank's casual theft.
- That's real, that's real crystal, that's real.
Put them in your purse.
- Frank!
- Put them, put them, put them.
- We can't do that.
- Put them in your purse.
- And use of illegal fireworks indoors.
- [Kevin] Cool, firecrackers, I'll save these for later.
(firecrackers banging)
- But all right, it's time for a verdict.
Let's tally up the crimes.
(rock music)
So let's start with Kevin's parents,
Mr. and Mrs. McCallister.
They are accused of felony child abandonment
and child endangerment.
- I hope you don't mean that.
Kevin!
- That carries with it a maximum sentence of six years
in prison, but given the mitigating circumstances,
the first time offense, and the fact that Kevin
lived the life of luxury when he wasn't abandoned,
they'd probably get a year of probation,
and I think that we can assume that Peter McCallister
would hire a really good lawyer
because he appears to be incredibly wealthy.
- Am I under arrest or something?
- That brings us to Harry and Marv.
They're accused of dozens of burglaries,
as proven by their Wet Bandit calling card.
- Nice move, always leaving the water running.
Now we know each and every house that you've hit.
- Each one carries with it a maximum
of seven years in prison.
In total, they'd probably look at
five to 10 years in jail for the burglaries.
Then they'd get six years in jail
for impersonating a police officer,
then for the attempted homicide of Kevin McCallister,
or at least the aggravated battery of a minor,
tack on another 10 years.
Finally that takes us to
the puppet master himself, Kevin McCallister.
His shoplifting would be pleaded down
to a misdemeanor at most.
Now attempted homicide would normally carry
at least a five-to-10-year penalty
under these circumstances, but no jury would ever convict
an eight-year-old of living out a revenge fantasy
in the suburbs of Illinois,
so the puppet master goes free to maim and kill again.
- Did I burn down the joint?
I don't think so.
(yelling)
- While Kevin created a fun house of horrors
for Harry and Marv, my friends and I were busy
building a playground for YouTube creators.
In fact, if you liked this episode,
I posted all of my bloopers exclusively
on our own streaming platform.
(popping)
It's called Nebula, and we are thrilled
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We built Nebula as a place where creators
don't need to worry about demonetization
or the dreaded algorithm.
I fact, I wouldn't be surprised if I got demonetized
for showing scenes from a PG movie.
Won't someone please think of the children?
- Hello. (gun fires)
- Because it's hard out there being a creator.
Nebula is a place where creators can do
what they do best, create.
It's a place where we can both house our content ad-free
and also experiment with new original series
that probably wouldn't work on YouTube
because of the algorithm.
For less than 20 cents per day, or $20 a year,
you can help a struggling YouTuber,
link in the description.
Okay enough of that.
When I saw that Nebula is built by creators for creators,
I really mean it.
Nebula features lots of YouTube's top educational-ish
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where every episode a different creator breaks down
their favorite TV intro sequence.
Polyphonic did Game of Thrones,
me and Mulder did Battlestar Galactica,
and I'll be covering Law & Order very, very soon.
(gavel bangs)
Seriously, we worked really hard on this
and we're really proud of the results.
The project is self-funded,
we're not backed by investors,
and we manage to make all of this ad free
with no dreaded algorithm.
- And there's plenty more where that came from.
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So do you agree with my verdict?
Leave your objections in the comments,
and check out how many laws were broken
in your other favorite movies like Jurassic Park
and The Dark Knight over here in this playlist,
where I'll see you in court.