The Green Mile by Stephen King is the story of a man with god-given powers of healing sentenced to death for killing two young girls. The themes of compassion and sacrifice can be seen in this movie. One part of this
movie that shows lack of compassion is when one of the prison guards, Percy, kills one of the prisoner’s pet mouse showing how little he cares about other people. Percy in this movie does not show any kind of good towards other people. He does not seem to care at all for anyone but himself.
This movie is about death row in a Louisiana prison. The last walk, from the cell to the electric chair is known at this prison as The Green Mile, due to the color of the floor. One item of special emphasis is that when the condemned man is seated in the electric chair, the prison guard in charge of the execution is supposed to place a wet sponge on top of the head of the prisoner, just before the head strap is secured with one of the main wires for the electrical current. This is meant to speed up the execution on the basis that water is a very good conductor of electricity, and the wet sponge conducts the current immediately into the brain of the prisoner. This kills the inmate quickly, and mercifully (as mercifully as this method can make possible). The preparation for the execution is ended, just before the juice is turned on, with the words: "God have mercy on your soul!"
It was also interesting that, when one prisoner is executed, and the guard in charge fails to use water on the sponge, there is a very ugly, painful and vicious electrocution in which the prisoner does not die immediately, but is badly burned and thrashes back and forth until the body is essentially a pile of charred remains.
This movie has mixed feelings for me. I am saddened when I see the soon to be prisoner holding onto the two girls he had just killed. Seeing him like that with the two girls makes me hate him for what he has done to the girls, and makes me want the worst...