In a Philadelphia home invasion, Clarence Darby murders the wife and daughter of engineer Clyde Shelton, who is forced to watch. Prosecuting attorney Nick Rice is unable to securely convict Darby due to mishandled evidence. Unwilling to risk lowering his high conviction rate, he makes a deal with Darby: in exchange for testifying against his accomplice, Rupert Ames (who only intended to steal from Clyde and flee), Darby will plead guilty to third degree murder and receive a lighter sentence. Ames is convicted and sentenced to death, while Darby is released after a few years. Clyde feels betrayed by Nick and the justice system.
Ten years later, Ames is executed via lethal injection, but he dies in agonizing pain due to a chemical alteration; evidence implicates Darby, who is alerted by an anonymous caller. The caller, using an electronically distorted voice, using knowledge of cocaine and a possibly underaged woman in his apartment to warn Darby that he’s looking at life in prison. Darby hijacks a police car, forcing a lone officer to drive to a deserted warehouse. The officer reveals that he is Clyde, and was also the caller. His gun paralyzes Darby with tetrodotoxin-coated spikes; Clyde straps Darby to a table, makes medical preparations to prolong Darby’s suffering, and then video-records himself torturing Darby to death. When Darby’s remains are found, evidence ties his death to Clyde; Clyde willingly surrenders and goes to prison.
In prison, Clyde demands a new mattress in his cell in exchange for a “confession.” Nick initially refuses, but after learning that Clyde traumatized Nick’s family with the video of Darby’s murder, District Attorney Jonas Cantrell orders Nick to make the deal. In court, Clyde represents himself and successfully argues he should be granted bail, but is jailed for contempt of court after berating the judge for accepting the legal precedent he cited, believing her too easily convinced and eager to let madmen and murderers back on the street.