<P> Karl returns to Linda's house, but seems undecided about whether to enter . When confronted, a drunk Doyle asks what Karl is doing with the lawnmower blade he had sharpened and fashioned into a weapon . Karl replies, "I aim to kill you with it," but not before asking how to reach the police by telephone . Not taking Karl seriously, Doyle says he should dial 911 and request "an ambulance, or a' hearst' ." Karl kills Doyle with two chopping blows of the lawnmower blade to the head . Karl then phones the police to turn himself in, and requests a "hearst" be sent for Doyle . He eats biscuits while waiting for the police . </P> <P> Returned to the state hospital, he seems to be a different person than he was during his previous institutionalization . He silences a sexual predator who had previously forced him to listen to tales of his horrible deeds, before standing to look out of the window towards a field, having learned the value of sacrificing one's self to save others . </P> <Ul> <Li> Billy Bob Thornton as Karl Childers </Li> <Li> Dwight Yoakam as Doyle Hargraves </Li> <Li> J.T. Walsh as Charles Bushman </Li> <Li> John Ritter as Vaughan Cunningham </Li> <Li> Lucas Black as Frank Wheatley </Li> <Li> Natalie Canerday as Linda Wheatley </Li> <Li> James Hampton as Jerry Woolridge </Li> <Li> Robert Duvall as Karl's father </Li> <Li> Jim Jarmusch as Deke, the Frostee Cream employee </Li> <Li> Vic Chesnutt as Terence </Li> <Li> Brent Briscoe as Scooter Hodges </Li> <Li> Mickey Jones as Johnson </Li> </Ul> <Li> Billy Bob Thornton as Karl Childers </Li>

Who's the main actor in sling blade