The Green Mile, 1999

May, 2023 | STUDENT

The Green Mile by Steven King was a movie centered around the idea of dealing with the practice of the Death Penalty and how it not only affects those who have been sentenced to death but with the dealings of those wardens who have to supervise those sentences and actually impose the death penalty upon them. The film is an extremely depressing take as we watch through the eyes of the prisoners and how they put to death 3 men, 1 of which was truly innocent of the crimes he was accused of. In this brief explanation, of which I will divide into two sections, and apply two separate ethical areas: Utilitarianism and Kantian Ethics. I will apply both of these ethical theories to the movie and explain how they apply to the overall theme and message of the movie.

To begin I want to start by comparing the movie to Kantian Ethics, and as Kant claims that his opinion of capital punishment is a positive one. More specifically Kant focuses on the equalization of punishment, specifically the Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes this as, “pure retributivism about capital punishment: murderers must die for their offense, social consequences are wholly irrelevant, and the basis for linking the death penalty to the crime is “the Law of Retribution,”” (Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Basically if you commit a crime, you are responsible for it. 

A character exemplified in the movie is William Wharton, who committed a double murder on two young girls, and created as much trouble as possible. He would be a prime candidate for the death penalty and everything associated. Specifically, Kant would normally be against anything but the death penalty, “Kant maintains that “the death of the criminal must be kept entirely free of any maltreatment that would make an abomination of the humanity residing in the person suffering it” (102, Ak. 333). (Encyclopedia of Philosophy).  But in this case, he is well deserved all of the punishment he receives, even his eventual death at the hands of John Coffey, as he harassed and assaulted the prison guards, almost killing one. We can also see this in the coward prison guard, Percy Wetmore, who constantly belittles the prisoners and is constantly challenging the head guard. Eventually, he sabotages one of the prisoners’ executions and causes him to die in a violent way, but later gets his, as Kant would say retribution, where by, John Coffey uses him to kill William Wharton left him ultimately brain dead for his retribution against the prisoner who was executed. According to Kant, William Wharton would be under punished for his crimes, unless he was treated exactly the same as the others, while Percy Wetmore is treated exactly as he acts and gets his just deserved.

Now to move on, I want to begin by applying utilitarianism which is the maximization of happiness in a given society. The basic principle of the theory is as follows, what promotes the greatest happiness in a given situation is the correct decision. Bentham’s stance on the death penalty is as follows, “[T]here is no one who, on reflection, would choose the total and permanent loss of his own liberty, no matter how advantageous a crime might be.  Therefore, the intensity of a sentence of servitude for life, substituted for the death penalty, has everything needed to deter the most determined spirit.… With capital punishment, one crime is required for each example offered to the nation; with the penalty of a lifetime at hard labor, a single crime affords a host of lasting examples” (Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Basically, he would be against the death penalty, which this film echoes his message. It highlights a prisoner who was innocent and still was executed.

Bentham’s idea of utilitarianism would agree with the message of this movie, by making a convincing case against the death penalty. We see people at their lowest while the guards try to maintain their morals and ideas while doing their job. The Death penalty is too cruel because we play judge jury and executioner. Another example of this would be the death of John Coffey, and Bentham would be against his death as he can heal others with his magical, God given powers, and is able to bring justice to the people that he needs to but because of the death penalty we lose his gift because he was at the scene of the crime. The gift would be far greater than giving closure to those who lost those girls since, any disease could be healed. So, the guards are at a standby, should they let John Coffey free or execute him as instructed.

Overall, the Green Mile is a fantastic movie that argues against doing what you are told to do, versus what you believe you must do. There are issues regarding the death penalty and ethical choices the characters must choose. The movie makes a case for the death penalty but after John Coffey is introduced shows the ineffectiveness of the practice while highlighting how poorly is can operate as it is not perfect.