The Shawshank Redemption: criminal justice portrayal in film

¶ … Shawshank Redemption (1994) is a film that, written and directed by Frank Darabont, and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman, will have different perspectives to varying audiences. The crux of the movie revolves around the hero's resilience and integrity. Andy's resilience is amazing: convicted of murdering his wife and lover (and, later, evidence shows that he likely did not do so despite the insurmountable evidence that ran to the contrary); initially despised by other inmates because of his introversion; time and again brutalized by them; manipulated by the jail warden; and spending 20 years in jail -- an inordinate amount of time for anyone -- Andy, nonetheless, manages to maintain his sanity and integrity. And he does this not by physical force but by mental force. Eventually escaping, he teaches his jail mates that smarts can always prevail and that hope is the ultimate means of survival.

Yet there are to many episodes that sound implausible. The Warden, for instance, was involved in money-laundering activities. Wardens are compelled to report to Regional Prison Administrators. They are supervised by the state government in which they work, although some are also employed, therefore monitored by the private companies that they work for. The jail is inspected on a regular schedule to ensure the smooth running and maintenance of all; fiscal reports are closely monitored on a frequent basis; and wardens are expected to hand in details and regular reports of their running. These are then followed up and evaluated. Taken all of this into account, it is extremely improbable that a warden's underhand dealings would go unnoticed (National Institute of Corrections, 2008)

More so, it is implausible that it took 20 years for Andy to reveal the Warden's duplicitous schemes without this having been discovered before. This is particularly so since Cooper v. Pate (1964) accorded inmates the right to sue for guard brutality and corruption, inhumane conditions, theft of personal property, and denial of basic rights (prison issues, n.d.). Inmates have long resorted to using such procedures. In 1996, for instance, over 64,000 such suits were field with the assistance of so-called "jailhouse layers" (ibid.). The Warden's money-laundering activities, his coercion of jail mates, and manipulation would, certainly, have enabled one or more of the inmates to have long ago sued him. If anything else, the warden would have been discouraged by the propinquity and ease of filing such suits.

One of the movies' uplifting scenes occurs with Andy's courageous playing of the opera piece of the "Marriage of Figaro" over the public address system for all the inmates to hear well aware of the punishment that he might duly receive for doing so. Inmates are allowed and indeed encouraged to receive cultural stimulus whilst in jail. It is incredible that Andy's playing the music over the system would, nowadays, be penalized. The Bureau of Prison's mission statement (2007) clearly calls for self-improvement activities, as does the U.S. Department of Justice: Office of Justice Programs that stresses the need and benefit of innovative education whilst in jail.

Examples of well-run prisons are rare, and most prisons have problems. As was demonstrated with the movie, there are two groups -- the convict and the staff -- each of who perceive the other in stereotyped manner and vigorously combat the other.