Similarities Between Dead Man Walking And The Green Mile

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Recommended: Black men in the prison system

Jonathan Olivo
English 3307

Race and trials

In the films Dead Man Walking and The Green Mile the main prisoners in film are convicted of very similar crimes. They both are accused of raping and killing their victims, however John Coffey from the Green Mile is actually innocent of the crime but because of his race, he was instantly found guilty and placed on death row. However we must look at the fact that the film is mostly based during the summer of 1935, a time where there is much animosity towards African Americans and lacked social equality. But now, we are in the present and it seems that this is still a very real issue that we are still dealing with, in light of the recent events of the shooting of Michael Brown and death of Eric Garner. …show more content…

He and sister Helen develop a special relationship during his time in prison as Poncelet asks her to help him with his final appeal. However his final appeal is declined so Poncelet then asks Sister Helen to be his spiritual advisor as his final days are quickly approaching. Helen tells Poncelet that redemption is only possible if he takes responsibility for his crime. Before he is taken from his cell he then admits to Helen about his crimes and he also appeals to the teenagers’ parents during his execution. He is a man that committed a heinous crime and is rightly punished for his crimes. This is a film that depicts the government and legal system working …show more content…

In this film a black man is accused of killing two little girls because he is found crying, holding the girls in his arms. “The discovery of sociology is something that we all live with, and it is left up to professionals that study this to help the general public to gain a better understanding of why we do the things that we do. The Green Mile reveals several behaviors, which puts into perspective why humans act the way that they do. For instance, when the farmer and his neighbors are looking for the slayer of the farmer's two young daughters, it was simply human nature to believe the enormous black man, John Coffey, was the murderer. The story took place in Alabama in the year of 1932. At this time; racism and segregation were evident in the southern states. Alabama is a state that is well known as a slave state, and the white people would never give a black man a fair chance because of the color of his skin.” However, John Coffey did not kill the girls and was actually trying to save the girls because he has the power to heal people and animals, as he first shows Paul Edgecomb his power by healing a mouse named Mr. Jingles. Paul Edgecomb is a death row officer that is also accompanied by Brutus Howell, Dean Stanton, and a sadist Percy Wetmore that started recently working on death row. Percy Wetmore spends most of his

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