Shawshank Redemption

“The Shawshank Redemption”

Movie Analysis: Psychology & Law

It is clearly shown in the first five minutes of the film even as early as the beginning credits begin does the viewer realize that this the plot of the movie and for me it clearly showed the link between the law and psychology. Chapter 4, 16 and 17 have the largest links to the movie and those are the ones that I will be using throughout my analysis.

Once again within minutes you find yourself in a court room and you begin to hear the defendant “Andy” (played by Tim Robbins) describing his accounts of the night in question. You realize quickly that this is the plot of the movie or at least the crime that was committed. The prosecutor is laying out the evidence for the jury to hear, “he admits he was there and his footprints, tire tracks, fingerprints on the bullets, the liquor bottle with his fingerprints and most of all his dead wife dead next to her lover”. {Chapter 4- the psychology of forensic identification and physical trace evidence} When he is done with his closing arguments even I would have submitted a guilty verdict with all that evidence. I can certainly say that I would have not have had reasonable doubt. The psychology part is in the way that the prosecutor described Andy, being an angry husband because his wife left him that night, he description of the way the weapon had to be reloaded because it only had 6 bullets and the murderer used 8 bullets, really did seem like revenge and premeditated, like whoever the killer was did that on purpose. Normally, murders that are committed like that always are done by someone who knew the victim/s. In this case the puzzle just fit perfectly. And so the judge sentences him to a double life sentence to prison even then he still claims his innocence but it doesn’t matter. The forensic identification was reported to be inclusive, which means “matched” Andy, even more so individuation occurred which means it ONLY could have come from him.

Another relationship to our textbook and the movie was how the jury took into account the trace evidence which in most cases jurors find this to be a very strong aspect and look to it for verification on whether or not a person committed the crime. Juries like eyewitness testimony and fingerprints. We don’t hear from the defendant’s attorney. I didn’t like that part nothing to create reasonable doubt which is one of the key concepts for jurors to consider. Reasonable doubt is usually created by the defense and in this case there was none. Put’s a good spin on one of the famous lines in the movie, “I’m innocent, my lawyer fucked me”.

As the double life sentence is handed down to “Andy”, I find myself already flipping to the next chapter in our textbook which is chapter 16; corrections, sentencing and imprisonment. In this chapter I found many examples and concepts from the movie and our book. First of all, Andy was sentenced to prison which serves the simplest of goals, incapacitation as well as for the retribution aspect. According to our book, in the late 1960’s and so on there was great interest in the brutality and violence that was happening in prisons also in the effectiveness and superiority issues that were going on. The movie is before that but it certainly begins to portray that concept in detail right from the arrival to the prison. The warden welcomes the prisoners to the prison and informs them of two things, “put your faith in God but your ass belongs to me”, clearly showing that he is the highest of the high. As our book points out, whether or not a prisoner receives treatment is typically left up to the warden. After that part of the movie you really begin to see the violence from the guards. When that first prisoner cries out on the first night he never comes back from the infirmary. Clearly the harshness of prison is seen in that scene and in many that follow. Prison life takes not only your freedom but it also takes a person’s humanity away, too. Psychologically a person can lose their mind in a place that is built on making a person feel less like a human being. Every prisoner is kept in a small confinement, they make them all dress the same, refer to them as numbers and/or call them all sorts of other degrading things. Prisoners have absolutely no rights what so ever. They are told when to eat, bath, go outside (if permitted) and if they need medical attention they have to be physical harmed or fill out a slip. The culture of prison is seen and the prisonization occurs. The power of the prison situations can be linked to the Morgan Freeman’s character “Red”, who is an older prisoner. Apparently, he is the man at Shawshank and if you needed something they he is the one to talk to. Showing once again the superiority and or power but this time through the inmates. Another point in chapter 16 – the harshness of prison life and what incarceration becomes for the prisoners. It must be extremely stressful as the movie portrays it seems unbearable. The psychological strain that each prisoner must face with always having to live in fear of other prisoners and even the guards. If you lucky though, like Andy, you make a friend with a guard.

The next big comparison concept with our book is in the scene where Andy finally asserts himself against the gang/gang member that continues to taunt him and has tried to rape him continuously for the first two years of his incarceration. Andy once again is outnumbered and they are holding him down, Andy threatens to bite off his private part if the guy puts it into his mouth. Andy ends up getting a beating like new before. But because just before that scene you see that Andy had just did a favor for one of the main guards and because of both of those antecedents the situation came to a whole other consequence, one I sure didn’t expect. The violence continues and after Andy’s beating, the guards (because of what Andy did for the guard by helping him keep an inheritance of 35,000) gave that same gang member who beat Andy an even worse beating that put him in a wheelchair for life and drinking out of a tube. The physical violence is so real and there are parts in the movie that any viewer cringes because of the sounds of bones being broken, the whaling and yells of grown men being broken down by each other. From accounts of the real prisons in chapter 16 you begin to realize that this movie really does portray a sense of reality towards prison life. Yes, this movie is not a true story but there has been a movie based on actual events with similar results as this one i.e. Escape from Alcatraz. And maybe neither movies really portray a perfect picture of the judicial system but I from where I see it at this point prison is the only place for people who are convicted of a serious crime and/or who are psychopaths be placed. The violence gets worse for some of the characters. Yes, there are alternatives but rarely are people or the cases given enough time or is there enough money for the system to make sure every case is dealt with correctly.

In Chapter 17 you encounter the section where your find errors and mistakes in death penalty cases just as you find in the scene where the “new” kid reveals he had been in a cell with an inmate that confessed to the crime that Andy had been convicted of. Can that really happen in real life? Yes, pointed out in our book, since 1900 there is a historical study done by Hugo Bedau and Michael Radelet that identified 416 wrongful convictions. That is an alarming number of innocent people that were falsely killed. Because of DNA there have been a reported 140 cases that have proved the innocence of people on death row and that was since 2010. When Andy takes the information to the warden, the warden confronts the kid and then kills again. I know it’s just a movie but that really was a twist because I am certain that corruption still exist in today’s prisons. Maybe not to that extent but it still lives. Personal accounts can be found in books like ours, online, journal articles and so forth of actual accounts from people who are or have been in prison. Many accounts of the unfair, cruel punishment and how the power of superior positions treatment towards the prisoners are vivid and support issues just like the ones shown in the movie. Then comes the escape which may or may not be similar to the possible actual events of the prison break from the movie referenced above, Escape from Alcatraz. Who knows? But I do realize that even although I am for the death penalty, I am remorseful of those that died and were innocent. As far as how the movie ended quite honesty I was rooting for the good guy all along. I have to conclude my analysis with truth, not everything is black and white, right?

In conclusion and although I am going back to Chapter 16, living in prison, incarcerated, identified as a prisoner by their last or even by number, a convict who possibly acted like an animal at one time that society felt should be sentenced to jail. I know that those are the people I am destined to help when I finish my degree. I want to work for a prison as a psychologist, the highest rank in the psych field and hopefully I will help those who find themselves incarcerated and in prison for a number of years or for life, I want to help them. Now, as I conclude my analysis on a more personal note, I have a few family members in prison as I blog this, right now. Sometimes it takes an assignment like this for me or as well as for people to realize how lucky they really are. Some people grow up under circumstances beyond their control, they grow up in poverty, brought up by parents that don’t care or who are on drugs for that matter; their choices in life are a reflection of the choices that were given to them. Criminals commit crimes, get jail time, they get out, and some people actually learn from prison life although the recidivism rate is not at all that encouraging. Inmates are not learning or really benefiting from prison or the life. That means there’s a whole or a need for reform. I hope to bring some light into the life of someone, someday because like this movie, “I’m guilty of committing a crime” as Morgan Freeman ends the movie. Some people call me a survivor, I call myself an exception to the rule. You might say I’m lucky or I got a second chance, as for what I think ~ I’m getting exactly what I deserve.

Terms: Psychology, reasonable doubt, court room, law, defendant, crime, prosecutor, footprints, verdict, evidence, fingerprints, trace evidence, jury, sentence, guilty, innocent, gun, weapon, convicts, murder, physical trace evidence, murderer, premeditated, killer, closing arguments,dead, sentencing, inclusive, forensic, inmates, prison, death penalty, judge, innocence, individuation, attorney, imprisonment, violence, rape, defense, corrections, incapacitation, retribution, brutality, warden, power, prisoners, infirmary, life sentence, psychologically, guards, gang member, convicted, wrongful convictions, escape, death row, drug, the truth, crimes, reform and criminals.

Shawshank Redemption: Prison Reform, conformity, recidivism.

If not from a course requirement and example of the prison lifestyle everyone should see if not more than once a viewing of the Shawshank Redemption. It’s hard from a cinematic perspective to not view the film as a masterpiece and the number one film of all time for quite some time. It’s easy to say then that the Shawshank Redemption unlike other films did a fundamental job in completing a goal by cinematographers which is to stand the test of time and remain current. That is to say the film through its well-orchestrated directing and plot avoided semantic satiation, a phenomenon which over repetition leads to lost meaning to the listener. That is to say, no matter how many times the film is viewed it’s a masterpiece from prologue to epilogue.
The film portrays its story then in two flavors, one through enjoyment of the viewer in terms of a cinematic approach, and the other as a depiction of the true horrors, trials and triumphs prisoners often face within the system, or that is within the confines of prison. The very nature of prison and its characteristics historically have been a topic of debate and evaluation. The very nature of how and where to put different criminals based on committed crimes and so forth is extremely interesting however in this case the largest depiction is from the prisoners perspective in terms of what they go through, how they become institutionalized (on a psychological factor), the basis of and the problems that arise with the probation process, and the supposed nature that the film easily makes a mockery of which is the notion of “rehabilitation.”
The introductory scene in which we are introduced to the character of Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) begins the basis of the depiction of the prison horrors that criminals are faced with. In this particular case, although everyone throughout the movie claims innocence, Andy indeed was. However, he ended up in prison for a double murder of his wife, and her lover. Partly, because he was indeed at the scene right before the murder (which lead to the collection of trace evidence) placing him at the crime, and of course due to the smoking gun in this case which happened to be a witness hearing him say he was going to do harm to his wife and her lover. This leads to the first horror of the justice system, which we have examined extensively throughout the semester. Just as we saw in the movie twelve angry men, here is another depiction and example of a man going to jail due to the incorrect testimony of an eyewitness. Partly because Andy may have had a public defender, which we all know produces trifles (which everyone during the movie blames for their conviction) or partly because the jury put too much weight on the testimony and closing statements, nevertheless Andy ended up in Shawshank.
The quote in the movie which stuck out to me was the quote stated by Morgan Freemans character “Red” when he said “they sentence you here for life, and that’s what they take.” I found the quote interesting as that it easily depicts the systematic nature, and construct of prison. The first depiction of this fact was when Andy arrived at the prison. Andy and the newly admitted criminals were stripped naked in order to search and process them, a technique used to humiliate and degrade them. This common practice was looked at and evaluated before when we read about the Stanford prison experiment, and the psychological toll it places on the criminals is earth shattering.
Perhaps most interesting was the character of Brooks Hatlen (played by James Whitmore) the elderly man who played the role of the librarian. His character through the depiction of wanting to stay in prison after being accepted for parole depicts accurately the psychological effects of prison, along with the questions of recidivism, and institutionalization.
As stated before a main goal is to break down individualism and reinforce conformity. In order to do so although physical punishment as the film depicted was often used, psychological effects are easily witnessed throughout the film. It’s clear that the warden through fear leads the prison system in an autocratic and authoritarian manner. This type of style leads to conformity and discipline to keep guards and the like safe. Further, through the use of operant conditioning prisoners learn through negative reinforcement that certain behaviors over others will be tolerated. From the very first scene this is depicted as that the criminals are marched naked in front of one another, to depict a group rather than individual mentality while at the same time laying the foundation for accepted behavior. Failure to comply such as asking “when can we eat” as depicted in the first scene leads to physical harm or “punishment” which ceases that behavior. As a result conformity becomes key and the old quote “while in Rome” or in this case prison that the easiest way to survive is to conform. This is a key depiction of a psychological process described by B.F Skinner known as operant conditioning. In this case negative stimuli such as acting against prison rules become avoided quickly out of fear of punishment in a physical manner. Examples of this process were present in the film. Having no contraband in your cell avoided confrontation with the warder. However, if caught you were punished. Although punishment and negative reinforcement is far from being the same thing both are used in prison in order to maintain order.
This phenomenon on conditioning can then be extrapolated as to why Brooks may not have wanted to leave prison, as well as why the character of “red” thought it was difficult to live on “the outside” due to years and years, decades and decades of conformity, the way you view yourself changes along with your temperament. As a result as stated throughout the movie by Morgan Freeman’s character you indeed do become institutionalized.
The film did do then a good depicting how prison isolates, deters, and confines prisoners as well as making a mockery of the “rehabilitation” term. Throughout the movie “red” tries on several occasions to be accepted for parole, and only after he admits that the term “rehabilitation” is a made up word used by politicians is he accepted for parole. And it’s true prison does a fine job isolating criminals, but a poor job putting them back into society to be successful. The movie depicted this as that when “red” finally got out he thought everyday of breaking his parole simply to go back out of a lack of knowing how to live. He even asked permission to use the restroom at his job, most likely attributed to the agonizing years of conformity, and condition that I mentioned before. This could explain why recidivism is so high as that criminals return simply because they no longer have the means to function after being released.
The movie then can be said to have done a good job depicting the life of criminals within the prison system. It raises the awareness that prison life is hard, but has to be in order to maintain safety, security, isolation, and so forth. It’s clear prisons accurately work as a means of deterrence however, fails to deter returning criminals due to recidivism factors. Through conditioning behavior is transformed, and isolation, along with the need and desire for criminals to seek retribution is avoided and of course general deterrence and specific deterrence to criminals and society in the like is reached do to the structure of the prison system. Although prison is meant to be this way it does raise awareness that the goal of reconciliation should be fostered. That is to say if criminals were given opportunity within prison to do good, in Andy’s case the library life, and a general sense of hope to survive once released could be fostered. However, reform may not come as that overcrowding and budget as depicted in the film just like real life is often a leading cause of most of the problems as those funds become an issue. Overall the movie as always was brilliant, and even more so when evaluated in an educational light in terms of psychology and law.

Terms: prison, deterrence, isolation, eyewitness memory, recidivism, parole, institutionalization, operant conditioning, punishment, B.F skinner, negative reinforcement, conformity, Stanford experiment, trace evidence, closing statements, pretrial instruction, jury, “rehabilitation”, temperament.

In Shawshank Redemption there were many factors relating to prison and other areas of psychology and law. In Andy Dufrense trial the jury found him guilty of first degree murder, a murder that is willful and premeditated. He is convicted due to circumstantial evidence. He owned the same gun that the murder used and he had a motive for killing his wife and her lover. There were also tired tracks and footprints belonging to him. Andy’s finger prints were one a liquor bottle that had fallen out of his car when he drove to his wife’s lover’s house. The prosecutor points out all of this forensic evidence during trial. Andy also admitted he was at the scene and had gone there with the intention of killing them but had sobered up and turned around and went home. He was also drunk that night which may have played into the jury’s decision to convict him. The judge at his trial says that Andy does not show any sign of remorse and that it despises him. This is an example of confirmation bias. The judge thinks that Andy committed the murder so he attributed Andy’s lack of emotion due to fact that he is guilty and does not feel any remorse than to the fact that it might just be his personality or that he might be in shock. He is sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison. The jury sentenced him to life in prison because they found that the mitigating factors outweighed the aggravating factors. He is then taken to a prison which is where convicted criminals are held for long period of time.

When he arrives he is stripped, hosed down and a disinfecting powder is thrown on him. This process is degrading and shows the prisoners right away who is in control. He is then given a uniform with a number on it and has to walk to his cell in the nude holding this uniform. This is the first sign of the prisoners losing their sense of self. They have no privacy and are a number instead of a name. When the guards take roll they only call the prisoners by their numbers and never refer to them by name. By the prisoners losing their sense of self it makes them less threatening. The guards then can also look at them as objects instead of human beings which could account for some of the brutality towards them.

In prison illegal activity happens. There is a hang that beats up and rapes other inmates. There is also a character, Red, that can smuggle things into prison. The main guard also beats up and sometimes kills the inmates when they don’t do exactly what he wants, such as at the beginning of the movie a new inmate won’t stop crying to the guard beats him to death. Andy, a skilled banker, also starts doing taxes for the Warden and the guards. This is an example of the brutality that can occur in prison. Although hopefully in the real world is does not occur to this extent. During this he committed tax fraud for the Warden. He takes the bribes that the Warden takes and makes it into honest money. Because of this cover up when the Warden discovers that Andy is an innocent man he won’t free him. A thief had come to the prison and told Andy that his old cellmate admitted to the murder to Andy’s wife and lover. This guy committed the crime out of revenge which would have been first degree murder, which was what Andy was convicted of. The Warden makes a comment about how he knew that Andy was guilty because of his sullen and quite personality. This is confirmation bias, just like the judge had.

Brooks, an inmate, was released on parole after spending 50 years in prison. He is unable to adjust to prison life and eventually kills himself. Red also experiences this when he is released on parole. He is working at a grocery store and cannot go to the bathroom without asking for permission because that’s what he has down for the past 40 years. He also contemplates killing himself until Andy gives him away out. Which Red takes and violates parole to go to Mexico. Brooks committing suicide is an example of how a person can become mentally ill in prison. He was so used to a certain routine that he could not adjust to the freedom and actually wanted to go back to prison.

Andy is also subject to being put in isolation during one point. He is put in isolation for two months. This is used as a form of punishment. He is put in a small room with no light and no human contact. His meals are shoved through a slot in the door. Based on the look of him it also doesn’t seem like he was permitted to shower or perform and bodily hygiene. This type of isolation could lead a person to be mentally ill. Humans need social interaction to function. This is seen in an experiment done be Harlow on monkeys. This type of isolation, in my opinion, would fall under the category of cruel and unusual punishment. I also feel that after that type of isolation Andy would not have come out as the person that he had gone in as.

This movie shows inmates in the prison setting and the effect that it can have on a person. It also shows the brutality that the guards can have as well as the corruption that existed in the system during that time. It also shows the illegal activity that still takes place in prison. There is also a great deal of deindividuation. I enjoyed this movie and was extremely relieved when it had a happy ending.

Terms: deindividuation, 1st degree murder, forensic evidence, loose of self, isolation, mentally ill, circumstantial evidence, aggravating factors, mitigating factor, prison, jury, judge, parole, confirmation bias

The movie Shawshank Redemption is one of my favorite movies. It contains a number of different concepts that we have learned throughout the psychology and law class. It seems like every time I watch this movie I find more and more things interesting. While watching it for this class I focussed a lot on the legal concepts, because that is something I never really focussed on. I noticed a lot of psychological concepts as well but I had already noticed a lot of those in previous times of watching this film. There were legal and psychological concepts throughout the entire movie starting at the very beginning.

At the beginning of the movie it was obvious that the legal system was going to play a large role in the movie. Andy Dufresne, the main character of the movie, is charged with the murder of his wife and lover. While in court what appears to be the prosecution is making their statement about how Dufresne was guilty of not just an act of passion but a thought out act of pre-meditated revenge. He made this point by explaining that eight bullets had been fired but the gun only contained 6, so Dufresne would have had to re-load the gun and shoot them each one more time. This court hearing appeared to be the second phase because he was sentenced to serve two life sentences at the trial. I thought it was interesting that they did not show anything about the deliberation of the jury, or any attempt from the defense attorney to help out Dufresne. I thought it was interesting when the prosecutor said to Andy that it was pretty convenient that the gun was never found and then Andy said that because he was innocent it was actually inconvenient.

One of the first things about the prison that I noticed we had learned about previously was when the prisoners were deloused when they arrived. They were stripped down, sprayed with what appeared to be a fire hose, and covered in the white delouse powder. We learned from the Stanford Prison Experiment that this was to rid and lice or other germs that the prisoners could be carrying into the prison. Not only does it accomplish those goals but it also humiliates the prisoners immediately after arriving at their new prison.

The next thing I found interesting in this film was the prisoners making bets about which new prisoner would break down first. It was not the fact they were betting that was interesting it was what happened once the prisoner starting crying and yelling that he did not belong there. The guards came and Captain Hardley beat him up until he was knocked out. The inmate was then taken to the infirmary where he later died because the doctor was not there until the next morning. This event was interesting because it was one of the first times in the movie that it showed the different roles between the prisoners and the guards. As we learned in the Stanford Prison Experiment, some guards get so into filling their role that they can treat prisoners in this manner. It makes the prisoners realize who is in charge and what the guards can do to them if they disobey.

Another interesting thing about this movie was how Andy became protected by the guards. While re-doing the roof in the spring, Andy overheard Captain Hardley's concern about his $35,000 inheritance. He thought he would end up having to pay money after taxes and other expenses, but Andy helped him to find a plan to avoid that and keeping all of the money. After this he not only gained some respect from his coworkers for giving them beer, but he gained some respect from the guards. Captain Hardley beat up Bogs who had been beating up Andy, and abusing apparently raping him. Bogs never walked again after Hardley took care of him. This was the beginning of Andy's protection. He was then granted a job of doing taxes in the library and doing paperwork for the warden.

The paper work he did for the warden was another interesting part of this movie. This showed the corruption going on in the prison. The warden was taking jobs and having his prisoners do the work. They would make practically nothing for their labor, because the warden described it as them doing community service. I learned in the book Orange is the New Black that prisoners that do not have a high school education only make 10 or 15 cents an hour, so I am sure that in the time of this movie they were working for nearly nothing if not nothing. The warden however was making money because he was getting paid for the work his prisoners were doing. Andy's job was to do the paper work and make sure there was no paper trail to catch up to the warden.

The psychological principles in this movie are almost infinite, but their are a couple that are especially interesting to me. One interesting thing was when Brooks the old librarian found out he was granted parole. He grabbed a knife and was threatening to kill one of his friends with it because it was the only way they would let him stay. Red described this as being institutionalized. He explained this term as how when a prisoner first arrives they learn to hate the walls, then after a period of time they begin to love the walls, and finally they begin to depend on the walls. Brooks had served 50 years in prison and had no clue how to interact outside of prison. It is terrible that he was released without being given any preparation for what he was about to return to. His parole allowed him to live in a halfway house which helps inmates to slowly get back into society. He had a job at a grocery store but for him it was hard work. This was sad to me that he was given a job he could hardly do, but he had to do it because other wise he would have had nothing. He ended up hanging himself because he felt scared and didn't want to live with it anymore. He had thoughts of committing a crime so he could return to prison. That was interesting to me because we learned that a high percentage of criminals return to prison after being released.

When Red was meeting with the group of individuals that decide on parole I was amazed at how the meetings went. He met with them 3 times, each time was ten years apart. The first time they asked him if he was rehabilitated and he told them yes he was and why he believed that. The second time the same thing happened. The third time was the most interesting time. When they asked him he said rehabilitation was a made up word. He also talked about how he felt regret everyday for what he had done as a young man but there was nothing he could do about it. This third time he was finally granted parole. I was surprised by that because it seemed like the first time he met with them he was rehabilitated and the last time he was just out of hope.

This made me think about rehabilitation and whether or not prisons really rehabilitate prisoners at all. I think prisons focus more on punishment and making prisoners feel regretful for what they did than trying to change their behaviors and prepare them to re-enter society. I feel that prisons should focus on trying to modify the behaviors that got the prisoners there. I understand they are sent there to be punished for what they had done, but when they leave prison they do not have the proper social skills needed and seem more likely to commit crimes. As Andy said to Red he was straight and narrow until he got to prison.

Red, Andy's best friend, was able to get Andy a rock hammer, which is like a mini rock pick for Andy to shape rocks. That was interesting because at first when Red saw the hammer he laughed and said it would take a man 600 years to dig out of prison with that hammer. At the end of the movie it showed that Andy was able to do it in less than 20 which is amazing.

All in all I really enjoyed watching this movie. It is still one of my favorite movies of all time and I am glad that I was able to watch it and connect it to new concepts that I am learning in the Psychology and Law class.

Terms: prosecution, defense attorney, second phase, life sentence, judge, pre-meditated, deloused, corrupt, parole, institutionalized, rehabilitated, and punishment.

The movie “The Shawshank Redemption” was a very interesting film. What made the film interesting was because of the fact that it dealt with an innocent man being sentenced to prison. My favorite line from the movie is where Andy is talking about how on the outside he was a law abiding man; he had to come to prison to become a crook. It was a very interesting film that looked into the aspect of our prison system. It also had a lot to do with a lot of the different psychological effects that prison can have on someone. The first area of psychology and law that we see in the film is the actual trial process itself. Andy is sentenced to prison after going through a trial by jury. Within the first opening scenes of this trial, we see how the prosecution basically destroyed Andy’s defense. What was interesting about this was the fact that we talked about in class about how it tends to be that the person in court that can tell the best story is usually the one that ends up winning. We find out at the end of the movie that Andy is actually innocent; however, at the time of the trial everyone is assuming that Andy was guilty. I remember the prosecutor questioning Andy about how his gun magically disappeared in the river and how that was just an amazing event that Andy just so happened to throw his gun in the river at the night of the murder. We eventually find out that he is innocent; however, the prosecution was able to convince the jury that he wasn’t innocent and therefore Andy was sentenced to jail. Another area of psychology that we saw in the very opening scene of the film is something that the textbook “Forensic and Legal Psychology” calls competence. According to the textbook, competence refers to “whether an individual has sufficient present ability to perform necessary personal or legal functions.” In the case of the movie, Andy wasn’t insane or had any mental issues; therefore, it was decided that he would be able to stand trial for the crimes that he “committed.” Another area that we see in this opening scene is how the jury makes decisions on whether or not someone is guilty or not. According to the textbook “Forensic and Legal Psychology” juries make decisions based on two different models; those models are mathematical models and story model. The mathematical motel basically says that the jury members decide whether or not someone is guilty on the basis on how much the facts add up on to either side. The example that the textbook gives to describe this is the fact that a juror basically has two ends of a line. At the ends of the line are innocent and guilty. In the middle of this line there is an arrow that points straight up, and to move this arrow the prosecution and defense give evidence. Based on this evidence, it moves the jurors “arrow” to one side or the other. In the case of the movie, the arrow for the jury was probably moved to the side of guilty just because of the fact that Andy had thrown his gun in the river and also he had motive to do the killing. The story model is basically says that jury members look at the information given to them and they come up with a story, based on that information, about what probably happen when the crime was committed. This is where the problem of who is the better story teller comes in. The fact is that the prosecution did a much better job of presenting their side of the story and because of that, an innocent man was sentenced to prison. An example of how the prosecution told a better story was that fact that he made Andy’s explanation for why he threw his gun in the river into something negative. This leads into the next point of the scene that has to deal with psychology and law and that is something called the liberation hypothesis. The liberation hypothesis basically says that the jurors make their decisions based on the strength of the evidence presented to them. In the case of the movie, Andy was innocent. How could it be he was sentenced to prison? The reason that he was sentenced to prison was because of the amount of evidence that was presented against him. Also, it probably had to do with the strength of the evidence against him, based on the fact that he had no explanation for where the gun actually went and that he was the only one that actually had a motive to do the killing, and because of this reason, he was sentenced to jail. The biggest aspect of psychology and law that we see in the film is the aspect of why we actually put people in prison. This aspect is basically that we want people to be punished for the crimes that they commit. These aspects are basically determined by something called determinate sentencing. According to the textbook “Forensic and Legal Psychology” determinate sentencing requires that judges hand down certain sentences that fall within a prespecified range if the defendant is found guilty of a crime. Based on the fact that Andy was found guilty of the crimes that he committed in court, he was sentenced to life in prison because of the fact that he had killed two people. This leads into the next area of psychology and law that we see in film and that is the prison system itself and the parole board. The prison system is self is basically a housing unit that holds convicted criminals for long periods of time. In the case of the movie, the prison would be Shawshank. Parole refers to releasing inmates from prison under the supervision of a parole officer before their entire sentence has been served. According to the textbook “Forensic and Legal Psychology” parole is usually based on the decision of a board of individuals that decide whether or not the person is read to enter back into society. In the case of the movie, the parole board is scene a couple of times in the film where Red is trying to get released back into the general public but keeps on getting denied. The other time that we see it in the film is when Hayward is being released from prison and goes to work at a store and live in a halfway house. However, he eventually commits suicide because he can’t handle living in the outside world. That a lead into another aspect of psychology that Red brings up is something called institutionalized. This basically means that someone spends so much time in prison that they actually learn to depend on it and when/ if they ever get released they don’t really know how to act in with the rest of society. The example of this in the movie is when Hayward is about to be released, he actually attacks one of his friends because he believes that it is the only way that they will let him stay in prison. This brings up a bigger question and that is the goal of the prison system itself. If the goal of our prison system is to deter people from committing crimes and actually make better individuals by trying to make them learn from the bad things that they committed; we are going to need to rethink how our prison system is conducting itself. The final aspect of psychology and law that we see in the film is the aspect that deals with the harshness of prison life. Andy is raped and attacked by other inmates, and he goes through a lot of mental problems. This shows that maybe sending people to prison isn’t the best thing for our prison system to actually do; the reason being that it actually doesn’t accomplish its goal. Overall this was a very interesting film and I am glad that I got to watch it.
Terms: institutionalized, determinate sentencing, liberation hypothesis, story model, mathematical models, competence, jury, trial

I have seen Shawshank Redemption before, but I was really excited to watch it again through the lens of psychology. All the characters in the movie are unique in their own ways. I saw many different aspects of the movie that were relatable to what we have learned during out class time, and also different things that I have learned throughout my time taking classes in psychology.
The chapter we read recently in our textbooks talked about the prison system. It talked about the problems of items being smuggled in and out of prison and the large number of guards and inmates that take place in this kind of activity. Although in the movie the guards were not really helping to smuggle items, you could see that Red was the master at smuggling in these items. The movie reemphasis how much of a problem this really is in the prison system.
Another section in this chapter talked about half way houses. The purpose of these half way houses is to give ex-prisoners who have been part of the prison system for so long, experience in how the outside world works and how they can get back on their feet. I am not sure about you, but I don’t think the half-way house that Brooks or Red went to were really much help in getting them back on their feet. Brooks was so “institutionalized” as they called it in the movie that he had a really hard time fitting back into normal society and many times thought about committing another crime just so that he could go back to where he thought he belonged. Brooks felt so much that he didn’t belong that he ended up committing suicide. Brooks was in a state of psychological depression, which he should have received help with from the half-way house or a psychologist. There is a problem with many prisoners feeling this “institutionalized” feeling. These prisoners need a place of employment that they actually believe they can fit in and work hard in.
One of the larger aspects of the movie was the idea that Andy was innocent. Not only did he know he was innocent, but it was known to all of his friends as well after he found out that one of his friends cell mates at a different prison admitted to committing the crime. We not only talked about this in class, but we also read a lot about it in our book. The number of wrongly convicted prisoners is a lot higher than one would like to think.
Andy not only struggles with the idea that he knows he is an innocent man stuck behind bars, but he also has a hard time fitting in and finding his own identity in prison. At the beginning of the movie he keeps to himself a lot, he is taken advantage of sexually, and also gets in many of fights. However, after a while things begin to change for Andy. Having been a banker in his free life, Andy begins to help guards with their taxes, run a library, and tutor prisoners in hope they will be able to get their GED. All of these different roles that Andy takes on helps him to better identify himself to the man he was outside of prison, and those are some of the ways Andy comes to bear the 28 years he is stuck in prison as an innocent man.
I also found defense mechanisms relevant in the movie as well. Although some may disagree, I found Andy’s chess project away to cope with the stress and anxiety he had. He would take rocks that his friends would help him find and widdle them into different chess pieces until he had a whole set. This is an example of the defense mechanisms of sublimation. This is when we manage to displace our emotions into a constructive rather than destructive activity. This might for example be artistic, such as Andy creating chess pieces from rock

Punishment is also used a lot in the movie. Obviously it is a prison and their overall purpose of being inside of it is a punishment, but they take it even further. Andy receives large stretches in the “hole” which is basically a very small cell with no lights and you get minimal amount of food, unable to ever come out. Social learning theory would say that just using punishers would not be very effective. That is why when raising your children today; many parents use rewards a long with punishers. In shawshank there is really no incentive for being “good” per se because the warden is such a bad man.

Terms: Sublimation, half-way house, depression, social learning theory, reward/punishments, identity, conviction

"The Shawshank Redemption" Movie Analysis
The Shawshank Redemption was a really good movie and it was filled with many different principles we learned about in chapters sixteen and seventeen of the text. Throughout the movie Morgan Freeman’s character, Red, is asked over the course of several years if he thinks he has been rehabilitated. They want to know if he is sorry for his crime and if he is ready to leave on probation. We learned about probation in chapter sixteen. We know that if a prisoner is released they are then sent to a residential community corrections center or a half-way house. Like in the movie, this is done in order to help prisoners get back on their feet and learn how to live in the outside world again. But just like in the case of the character Brooks, many have been institutionalized. They are so used to being in prison that it is their safety net and they hate to leave. The real world becomes the scary place, and prison becomes their home.
“The man has been in here 50 years, Hayworth, 50 years! This is all he knows. In here he is an important man, he’s an educated man. Outside, he’s nothing. Just a used up con with arthritis in both hands… I’m telling you these walls are funny. First you hate them. Then you get used to them. Enough time passes, you get so you depend on them. That’s institutionalized.”
This was my favorite quote in the movie. Everyone was wondering why Brooks was acting so crazy, but they just could not see how he had grown to see the prison has his home; his only way of living. He had made it so he was trusted by many, including the guards. They let him run the prison library all by himself. It was the hardest thing for him when he was thrown out in the world again. He talked about how before he went to prison how he had seen a car one time, but now they were everywhere and it scared him how much everyone was in a hurry. Many men who get let out probably feel this way too. They feel like the world has completely changed when they return from being away from it for so long. It makes some of them want to do what Brooks wanted to do and did. He wanted to go back to prison, but instead decided that taking his own life was his only option. It is sad that men who have served their time, and may have even changed their ways, cannot handle the stress of returning to the world. They want to commit crimes so they can go back to what they have grown to know and depend on. And that is the justice system, being in prison.
Another thing that was touched on in the beginning was the death penalty. The main character, Andy was sentenced to 2 lives in prison instead of the death penalty. The judge said “You strike me as an icy and remorseless man, Mr. Dufresne. It chills my blood just to look at you.” I believe the judge wanted him to have the time to sit in prison and think about the crime he had been charged with. However, the judge did not realize that he was innocent. And it is truly sad that when evidence had come into Andy’s possession, the warden, or the man in charge of the prison, made sure he would never be leaving his prison.
This movie was extremely enlightening and I am glad we were told to watch this. I had never seen it before, and I never would have if it had not been for this class. It was helpful to see what we had read about in action, and it was also a really enjoyable movie in itself.

Terms: Rehabilitated, Residential Community Corrections Center, Halfway House, Parole, Institutionalized, Death Penalty, Warden.

Shawshank Redemption
I have to say, if anyone wants to learn about what prison life could be like, along with what it can do to your mental state, Shawshank Redemption would be the one to watch. I wouldn’t account for his glorified escape though, that is very unlikely to happen in the real world. However, in this movie you will notice how some of the inmates were treated better due to their race and social class, such as the main character Andy. Finally, this movie also demonstrated a powerful description of how inmates are not rehabilitated, especially those who have almost served a life’s sentence.
First off, the prison life for any of the inmates in the film was not a pleasant vacation, especially for the new inmates, “new fish”. The new inmates were looked at as game, who will give in first? Who will be the first to break down on the first night? Unfortunately, one of the new inmates in the film didn’t even last a full night, all because the guard had beaten him to death. This was one of the things that I found most horrific about the film, was that the guard brutally beat some many of the inmates, and even killed some, but yet was never charged, or even got into trouble. Sadly, I feel that things like this do go on still today. Anyone could easily say that it was self-defense. Other component s that influenced the mental health of the inmates was how the inmates were treated with constant dehumanizing ways. When the new inmate died the first night, no one wanted to know his name; maybe that would be it seem less real to all of them? Another component also was the warden. The warden didn’t’ care about a single one of the prisoners. Yes jail is to keep the bad people away from harming society, and to make the prisoners suffer a little bit as well, but the last goal of the prison system is to rehabilitate. Yet there is nothing to help rehabilitate the inmates. Which is why Brooks could not handle life back into society, he had been incarcerated for fifty years; prison became his norm. I always go back and compare the military life to prison life, they are both very similar. Brainwashing techniques, stripping of identity, and constantly harassed and given orders, all these things happen in both “life styles”. Of course, I think prison life is much worse.
Secondly, as we watched Andy was able to become close with some of the guards. He himself did not truly respected them, but it went along with the plot in the movie, as he drained the prison’s money away into his own accounts. But I felt that through this portion of the movie, Andy was treated differently because for one, he was white, and had a college education. And he used his social status to benefit the guards, and gain trust. The guards were blind, because they were reaping the benefits. This I feel was only a small part within the walls, but still influential.
Lastly, what we have learned throughout psych and law and through the text is that a goal with in the prison is to rehabilitate. But in this move I never saw an ounce of an effort to try and rehabilitate anyone. Yes, the warden started the work program where the inmates could start working outside, and on the land for other people, but it was more like slave labor than anything. When Brooks had spent an almost life sentence, and once he was released on parole he felt that he had no purpose. The job that they placed him in was not equipped for his age, and he was uncomfortable in the living courters. Brooks always thought about committing another crime and try to get back into prison, but felt that he was just too old for that sort of thing. They day that Brooks was getting released he even tried to stab one of the fellow inmates because he was scared about leaving’ he had become “institutionalized”. We then know that Brooks commits suicide, because he just could not fit back into the world anymore. I feel that Brooks was a prime example as to why better rehabilitation programs need to be put into prisons. Once you’re stripped away from society, and put into a “routine”, prison life becomes your life, and the world is no longer a place for you.

Psychological Terms: dehumanized, rehabilitate, brainwashing techniques, institutionalized.

I had never seen the Shawshank Redemption except for a parody on Family Guy. It was definitely a very long and deep movie, but the concepts were very eye opening. The first thing I noticed was that Andy's trial was not a trial by jury. The decision was given to him by the judge, and the judge seemed to be superficial in the sense that he told Andy he looked stone faced and guilty. Andy didn't seem to have much of a defense attorney either, and his trial didn't seem to go by the concept "innocent until proven guilty". I had to remind myself that the trial was to be taking place in the late 40's, and the justice system has come a long way. The evidence is really what got Andy in trouble. DNA and fingerprints at the crime scene, along with scattered bullets and an alcohol bottle are pretty hard to explain. This is especially true since we know that if a person is under the influence they are more apt to think irrationally. Unfortunately, there was really no "three strikes rule" that the courts went by at this time, and Andy's character, based on the fact that he had never had any other charges against him, was not brought out in court.
Next, we see Andy brought to a prison. It surprised me that there were so many men at this prison for murder, yet the security really wasn't all that high. The guards were brutal, but the men were allowed to eat together, shower together, work outside, and spend their free time outside. They would even do things like play chess and checkers. I remember reading in the textbook that for those who had committed very heinous crimes were usually not allowed to associate together much, as they would get ideas from each other and possibly cause mischief. The prisonization process for new inmates was especially brutal. Like we learned about in the Stanford Prison Study, these men had their masculinity taken right out of them. The guards hosed them off and then threw some type of anti bacterial powder on them. They were then made to walk to their cells naked in front of all the other inmates. The warden, who was so evil, also talked down to them telling them that they belonged to him.
The prison life is very harsh, as read about in the text and seen in this movie. It is very hard to get use to because you are no longer in control of your own life. As seen in chapter 16, prison gangs are definitely another factor. In the movie, there is a group called "the sisters" who would single out people to rape and beat up. There were also other groups that weren't necessarily violent, but they would smuggle in things for their friends, including and not limited to drugs. I found it very comical that the prison currency was cigarettes.
The guards of this prison are a whole other story. The behavior they exhibited in this movie is a lot like what was described in the Stanford Prison Study. This makes me wonder if prison guards can really be this evil and controlling or if this isn't normal. Nevertheless, these guards would beat prisoners senseless and sometimes even kill them from their beatings. I will go ahead and include the warden because he was very crooked. The power of being in charge of others' lives definitely went to his head. He even had a man killed. The textbook talked about guards who make deals with prisoners and smuggle things in for prisoners. This is seen in the movie, as Andy does favors for the warden and the guards, he is given more privileges, such as alcohol for his friends and more time to do what he wants.
The biggest thing this movie does is make you question if prisons are doing their job. In chapter 16 we learned a lot about the goals of prisons, and although this prison incapacitated the prisoner, they focused way too much on deterrence and retribution. This prison was all about physical and psychological punishment to make the prisoner feel pain. The thing they were missing was true rehabilitation. Even the prisoners knew this when they would go to a meeting to apply for parole. It was so weird to feel such sadness for those prisoners who were granted parole and didn't know how to move on from there. The poor older man, named Brooks, was such a heart breaking story. Although to the professionals he seemed "rehabilitated" he was no where near ready for society. He called the prison home because he had known no other life for so long. The thought even went through his head of committing another crime so that he could come back "home" to the prison. Brooks ended up committing suicide, and we can see that he was definitely in need of more psychological help and how to deal with going back to the freedom of society. I know I have said this before, but prisons really need to focus on the individual rehabilitation of prisoners. What is really going to help them? Realistically, I know how hard this would be because of funding and time, but I feel it would be worth it for the safety of society.
Terms: trial by jury, judge, innocent until proven guilty, DNA, crime scene, three strikes rule, court, prison, prisonization, Stanford Prison Study, warden, gangs, incapacitated, deterrence, retribution, rehabilitation, parole

To relate “The Shawshank Redemption” to class, we can look at the beginning of the movie where Andy is in a courtroom. Andy is acting as the defendant and giving his account of what happened the night his wife and her lover were shot to death at the man’s home. The prosecutor has strong evidence against Andy, in which he has bullets from a 38 caliber pistol with his finger prints on them, foot prints, tire tracks, and a smashed bottle of brandy. This all relates to chapter 4 which is about forensic identification. Forensic identification is the process of linking a piece of physical trace evidence to an individual. The prints found on the bullets are called latent prints. Andy confesses that he was drinking the night the murder took place, but told the judge and jury that he was starting to sober up and drove back home and threw his gun in the river, but it was never found. The judge and jury find him guilty for two accounts of murder and is sentenced to serve two life sentences.

This movie also relates to chapter 16 of our textbook, corrections: sentencing, imprisonment, and alternatives. After Andy is sentenced to his double life sentence, he is transferred to Shawshank Prison. Jails are short-term holding cells operated by cities, and the people who are sentenced there are usually only there for less than a year. In the movies case, a prison holds convicted criminals for longer periods of time. Most people who are held in prisons usually stay until their death or until they are put on death row and execution. Andy is in the prison at the beginning of the 50’s, and in this time period prisons were keen on using physical force to get the inmates to comply with orders. It seems that Shawshank’s main goals is incapacitation and rehabilitation. Every ten years, convicted felons go under review of a board to see if they are totally rehabilitated. According to our book, during the late 60’s, there was a growing concern about the brutality and ineffectiveness of prisons. The prison scene also portrays the psychological effects that the prisoners must go through. When Andy spends two straight months in the “hole”, he recalls being all alone, and just talking to himself through his mind. Prisons like these make use of isolations to punish and teach them a lesson. These prisons are essential to the criminal justice system, but become increasingly expensive over time, which is why the Warden has Andy do all of the taxes and get them tax-free money. Prisons have changed greatly over time, and the prison shown in this movie isn’t in use any more because of the creation of prisoner rights, and a code of conduct that prisoner guards must follow and abide by.

Shawshank Redemption also relates to chapter 17 of our text book, The Death Penalty. Andy was not sentenced to death row, but was sentenced to two life terms, but this chapter talks a lot about how there are errors and mistakes in death penalty cases and life terms. Andy was wrongly accused of the murder of his wife and her lover, and would now spend the rest of his life in prison. The only way that Andy could prove his innocence was through a newly acquired inmate who told him of one of his old cellmates who said he had committed a murder that sounded just like Andy’s case. The warden needed Andy to stay around because he was laundering money for the prison. The book talks about how the use of DNA has become increasingly helpful to solving crimes in which someone has been wrongly convicted. In the movies case, this is unavailable because of the time period, but if DNA had been available Andy probably would have been acquitted of the charges if there were some sort of DNA left at the crime scene by the real criminal.

Overall, this movie shows the psychological effects that the inmates deal with from day to day. Prisoners go through daily beatings from guards if they do not follow directions, or if they look like them wrong. The prison mates can get so lonely that the reside in anything that can keep them company. In Andy’s case, he has posters of good-looking movie stars. The old librarian, Brooks, has a pet bird that he has taken care of since it was young. All in all, prison inmates are pushed to their breaking point every day because they are not free men, and are shown no type of freedom while inside the prison walls.

Key terms: defendant, prosecutor, evidence, forensic identification, physical trace evidence, judge, jury, latent prints, prison, jails, incapacitation, rehabilitation, isolation, warden, DNA, death penalty,

I have never seen The Shawshank Redemption before, due to my first time seeing the movie I only had time to see the first hour. Within that first hour I saw several psychological factors. The first psychological aspect I recognized in the film was biopsychology. The main character, Andy Dufrene, was on trial for killing his wife and her lover. The movie opens up with his trial, and he is on the witness stand being questioned by the prosecution. While he is being questioned he tells the court how he had recently been in a fight with his wife, and she was leaving him for another man. Right there the prosecution pointed out that he had motive to kill his wife and her lover. As he, Dufrene, went on about the events he did that night he had mentioned he had been drinking. Alcohol could play a role of a substance that impaired Dufrene’s thinking and actions. I believe this is where the biopsychology is represented in the film. Being under the influence of a substance could have altered his memory about what happened that night, and this is where the alcohol substance also can be shown as cognitive psychology. The alcohol in his system could have manipulated his memory believe something else happened like throwing the gun in the river. Another psychological aspect is social psychology. Even though I did not see the whole movie I would assume that social psychology is shown throughout the movie because Dufrene is making connection with the inmates and the officers. When Dufrene offers to help the officer claim his full inheritance he asks for one thing in return that is beer for his friends. In this scene the audience sees a bond that is starting to grow between Dufrene and the other inmates. As time goes on Dufrene also gains a connection with the officers. Because he is good at financial advice he starts to help the officers with all sorts of things, like college funds and mostly taxes. The relationship between Dufrene and officers is starting to be seen. Speaking of growing relationship developmental psychology is seen throughout the movie as well. In the beginning when Dufrene is sent to prison he stays to himself. I’m guessing he believes that if he keeps to himself then no one would cause trouble with him. After a month goes by he finally talks to Red, Morgan Freeman’s character. Red is known around the prison for the man who knows how to get things. Dufrene finally talks to Red because he needs a rock pick. After he starts talking to Red he then begins to socialize with other inmates, those that are in Red’s circle. So the audience sees a development of friendship occurring. The audience also sees the development of Dufrene adapting to the prison life. Another psychological aspect would be sensation. The old man who worked in the book store, well Dufrene was moved to the library section of the prison and he started wondering how come the warden decided to have him work there. The audience and Dufrene suspected something was up when only one person, the old man, had worked alone all those years in the library. Once Dufrene noticed something was up I became skeptical also. It turned out Brooks was leaving the prison. His time was up, his sentence was served. Brooks was scared to leave the prison because that is all he knew, prison life. He served 50 years in the prison and he was afraid of the outside world, so afraid he was about to murder another inmate just to stay in prison. This was a representation of cognitive psychology. The fact that he was going to real world, well not prison world, frightened him. His emotions got the best of him. His emotions and thoughts about how it would be started to manipulate his thinking and he came to the only conclusion that he had to commit murder in order to stay.

Terms: Biopsychology, Social Psychology, Trial, Prosecution, Defendant, Murder, Cognitive, Developmental

I had never watched this movie before and I loved it! It was so interesting to watch from the point of view of this class. Right away the movie began to express psychological and legal aspects. While Andy was in the court room the types of questions the prosecution asked were very one-sided and they painted a picture of how Andy committed the crime. Everything pointed to him therefore he was sent to life in prison. It was shocking to see what happened once he got to Shawshank. The guards treated the inmates horribly, at least worse than I expected. They humiliated the inmates by making them shower in front of everyone and walking to their cells naked. They basically made them feel like a number that is stuck there for a period of time, and the guards made sure the new inmates would cooperate. This made me think about the Stanford prison experiment. As the guards and inmates were treated very similarly to the guards and inmates in the movie. The guards in the movie took their role very serious and they felt psychological and physical abuse were acceptable means of punishment. Prisonization is the assimilation of new inmates into the values, norms, and language of the prison. This is what the new inmates had to adapt to once they were put in their cells. Nobody told them what to do or how to act; they were expected to figure it out themselves. Therefor expressing how violent the atmosphere of the prison was.

I was surprised to see that none of the inmates had contact with their friends or family. They didn’t even write letters home or receive letters. This expresses the idea discussed in the text that prisons are harsh and how their lives change in three major ways. First there are banished from the outside world, and this causes them to lose contact with their family and friends. Second they had no decision making power, anytime they wanted to do anything they had to ask. And third the overall environment of prison is very dark and oppressive therefore impacting their personality and how they feel. All three of these ideas were expressed when the elderly man was released from prison. He didn’t know what to do or where to go in the real world because for so long he was stuck in one place doing the same thing every day.

Right away Andy became a favorite of a gang that abused the inmates. It was disgusting to see what they would do and how nobody would help him, as the guards had to have some idea of what was going on. However according to the text officials become less likely to respond to complaints of prisoners who are physically or sexually abused by other prisoners, basically because they outnumber the guards or the guards simply do not care. This caused Andy to have to fend for himself and to watch his back more than some of the other inmates. The abuse had to of affected Andy psychologically. The movie expressed that during his first two years he was very distraught, depressed and kept to himself. It appeared that he was trying to figure out where he stands and what to do. Every time he saw the gang the amount of fear that took over was frightening. Therefore this experience impacted his mental health greatly because he was being abused and there was nothing he could do except try and fight back.

Toward the end of the movie one of the characters was released on parole after he served thirty years of his sentence. According to the text parole refers to releasing inmates form prison under the supervision of a parole officer before their entire sentence has been served. Once he was a free man the prison took him to a residential community corrections center, or a halfway house. According to the text this is where groups of offenders live in a communal environment and attend some form of group therapy. In the movie the halfway house allowed the man to have a job in hopes of getting him back on his feet. I can’t even imagine how difficult it would be to be released into a world that you have not really been part of for thirty years.

It was shocking and disturbing to see how the inmates were treated; I would hope that some of the scenarios do not happen in our prisons because they were not right. I do not think prison inmates should be treated equally to people who are free, however it is not humane to do some of the things that happened in the movie. For example the very first night one of the new inmates was distraught and the guards beat him to death. Therefore I think it would be very beneficial if there was a type of therapy offered to the inmates in hope of them changing and learning how to deal with their situation. Also as the text states if therapy is used and if the inmates are taught new skills it is likely that recidivism will be reduced.

Overall I thought this movie was really interesting and expressed several psychological and legal aspects.

Terms: prosecution, prison, Stanford prison experiment, prisonization, harshness of prison life, gangs, mental health, psychological abuse, physical abuse, parole, residential community corrections center, therapy, recidivism,

We can obviously see that in this movie there are a bunch of things that match up to various chapters in our text book, but which chapters to really focus on is the tough question that I am faced with.

Andy Dufresne, played by Tim Robbins, was sentenced to life in prison for murdering his wife and her on side lover. From this very important scene in the movie where he is sentenced we can look in our books at chapter 16 where we have learned about corrections, sentencing, and imprisonment. When we read chapter 16 we read about controllability whether or not a person was able to control their behavior. We also looked at different types of imprisonment, in Andy’s case he was sent to a prison for life and not just for a random long period of time. I guess we could say that he was going to be looking forward to dying in his prison cell. The prison decided to keep Andy locked up just to make sure he was not going to act upon anyone in society again like he did to his wife and her lover. This would be the simple goal of incapacitation.

With him being locked up in a regular prison he had no choice but to sit there and rot, but what he did on his spare time because he was such a great banker before the incident happened with his wife, he decided to start doing the warden’s and the guards taxes for them. While this happened he was gaining something else besides the gratification of him doing his job before imprisonment, he was gaining someone else’s identity and becoming someone new so he could escape and live a new life; this was going to be a fresh start for good ole Andy. We all knew what he was up to, but did everyone else that was behind bars? The only person who really knew what he was up to was Red, Red was waiting for him on the outside.

We all know that Andy had done the dirty deed of killing his wife and her lover and we could see by looking through chapter 8 and 9 that Andy was competent to stand his trial and he was definitely not insane to even try and get the insanity plea put against him. He was perfectly sane and he knew what he was doing that night his wife was murdered. I guess we could say that things were a little bit on the premeditated side? If something is premeditated that means the deed was planned and thought about before the incident had happened which Andy clearly did. Could he have gotten a mens rea defense, in his case I do not think he could have, he was clearly capable of knowing what was wrong.

We clearly could see that Andy had no mental issues though; he was a perfectly educated male who had succeeded in his career so we could see that he would not have needed a cognitive test to figure out whether he knew what he did was right or wrong because clearly he could distinguish between the two. In the beginning of the movie when Andy murdered his wife and her lover he was clearly under the influence of alcohol which does mean that his judgment was impaired, does this make him any less guilty, in my eyes because what he did was kind of premeditated that he understood what he was doing. I keep leading to the idea that he knew what he was doing because that is a major key in court. If he knew what he was doing then obviously he had no issue with brain power. His life was coming to an end with him finding out about his wife cheating on him so he had to stop it by killing both of them. He knew he would get put in prison for his careless actions.

KEY TERMS: Incapacitation, Controllability, Imprisonment, Premeditated, Competent, Insane, Insanity Plea, Cognitive Test, Mens Rea Defense, Court, Guilty

Overall, I really loved this movie (mostly because I adore Morgan Freeman), but mainly because it gives a pretty accurate portrayal of prison life. I found this movie had many different psychological aspects integrated into it that I had never noticed before I watched it with a psychological analysis thought process.
The first thing about this movie that I noticed was at the very beginning of the movie. Andy is seen getting out of his car after drinking alcohol. He drops the bottle he had been drinking out of as well as the bullets he was trying to put into his gun. When he was cross examined in his trial, the prosecutor states that investigators found the alcohol bottle and the bullets with his fingerprints on them. With the movie set in 1947, I was questionable about if this was accurate and it is. This is a good example of how fingerprinting was used in trials beginning in 1901. The fingerprints that are found on evidence are known as latent prints.
Another psychological aspect that I noticed was how the prosecutor mentioned that the person who killed Andy’s wife and the man she was having an affair with, shot them so many times they had to reload the gun and shoot them one more time each. This shows the characteristics of both an organized and disorganized crime. The movie never states whether Andy was innocent or guilty. However, the movie portrays him to be guilty in the beginning only to change in the middle when another man admits to killing his wife. The organized crime characteristics are shown when Andy is drinking (and waiting) in his car and then gets out with his gun. The viewers do not know where he is going, but can assume that he is planning to kill his wife, because he knows she is with another man. Another characteristic of organized crimes is the fact that the murderer put another round of bullets into the gun and shot the victims 1 more time. Assuming Andy did kill his wife, the only characteristic of a disorganized crime was the passion behind it. In trial the prosecutor stated that eyewitnesses heard Andy and his wife arguing only hours before her death.
Another huge psychological aspect that was made quite obvious in the movie was how inmates can become institutionalized after serving long sentences in prisons. This was shown when Brooks tried to assault one of his friends because he did not want to leave. He had become so accustomed to the prison life in the 50 years he had been there, he was afraid he would not be able to live on his own in society. Brooks had also gained a status in prison, one that when he lived in the outside world, did not exist. When he was sent home on parole, he was given a place to work and was allowed to live in the halfway house, or a residential community corrections center, until he was able to get back on his feet. However, after a period of time that was not stated in the movie, Brooks committed suicide. This is still a current issue with today’s correctional facilities. Halfway houses are meant to ease the transition from prison back to “normal everyday life”. However, they do not. This was also shown in the book Orange is the New Black. Piper discusses the courses that are required for inmates to take before they are allowed to leave. However, Piper stated that if she did not have a great support group on the outside, she would have no knowledge of what to do. Unfortunately a lot of inmates who are in prison do not have a support system to go back to. This situation is part of as to why 67% of inmates who are released into society are rearrested and put back into jail within three years.
Keywords: Trial, prosecutor, latent prints, organized and disorganized crimes, parole, halfway house, and recidivism

Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie I’ve ever had the pleasure of viewing. So when it was this week’s film that we had to relate to class, I jumped at the chance to watch it! The topics from chapters 16 and 17 are heavily featured in this film and one of the first things I’ll bring up from chapter 16 was the prison life style. Even before arriving at Shawshank, Andy has to deal with what I thought was bias. He was very unemotional which didn’t help him with the judge as (I infer anyway) made him look remorseless. So by calling him “Evil” (which I’m sure the press ate up) it starts coloring the opinion of himself and how others looks at him. When they arrive at the prison the walk is filled with jeering of other inmates calling out fish, which of course would be rather unsettling. After words they’re forced into strip search and disinfectant shower to add humiliation on top of the fact that they have no choices anymore. They can’t decide when to eat, sleep or do anything themselves anymore. This is done to break their morale and make them manageable and to get them to conform to their rule. The next thing would be the gang life (and by association violence) in prison. Andy for about the first 1/3 of the movie is hounded by a gang called the sisters, who rape and beat him very harshly. Andy of course is very quiet and takes it until one day after nearly being raped; he threatens/ implies he’ll bite it off. He is then beaten and is hospitalized. Unfortunately what Boggs doesn’t know is that Andy has formed what I wouldn’t call a truce with the head guard Hadley, but a relationship where Hadley has uses for Andy. So in retaliation the guard beats Boggs so severely he is paralyzed!
Speaking of Andy’s use to the guard from helping them with the tax evasion brings up another part of prison life, which is the whole finding your place. Normally this is within a gang but in the case of the film it’s more like a small community. Red is the guy that knows how to get things, and essentially a store owner while Andy is a tax expert and helps the guards with their taxes (and the Warden with committing tax fraud). Then there’s the older man Brooks who is the librarian before Andy is who pushes the book cart around. Red sums it up best saying that anyone for a length of time becomes institutionalized. They become so use to being in the prison and the positions they hold amongst the prisoners that they don’t want to leave like Brooks. That reason being is they don’t have a life on the outside, by the time they’ll be out they’ll be old and wrinkled and have no important. Maslow created something called the hierarchy of needs, which are the needs with what we need to achieve self actualization or a fulfilling life in simple terms. Once the prisoners become “settled” in to prison life they in a sense achieve that. They receive food, water and shelter. They are usually safe as long as they avoid enraging the guards or a fellow inmate, they may not form love but they have close friendships and they feel needed by whatever position they have in the prison by their fellow prisoners.
To sum this up I believe that the one thing that kept Andy from being institutionalized was the fact that he was never broken, he always knew he wasn’t guilty and I think that it helped with the plot of the movie that the underdog beats the villain and makes the perfect getaway. As far as class is related this movie is the perfect example for what happens in a prison
Bias, Maslow, Hierarchy of Needs, Conformity, Prison life

Shawshank Redemption is one of those movies that gives insight into how the prison system use to be. The movies shows great example of how corruption and power can lead a system to fall apart. The psychology in this movie is great because it show example of how new prisoners are broken down and are forced into the jail society. While in prison these inmates created a society and life for themselves and have no idea what’s going on in the world. The best example is the older prisoner who worked in the library and gave out books. He knew no other life, but prison life and knew nothing of the outside world. He was too old work and couldn’t adapt to the way the world was and couldn’t take the stress. He was willing to give up his freedom for to stay in prison, either by committing another crime or killing somebody. The movie described Brooks as suffering from institutionalization because he was important in prison and is dependent on the prison to live. Red also gets a chance at parole and rejoin society outside the prison and he admits he fears to go back to the world. Some of the example of Red suffering from institutionalization is that he keeps asking for permission to go to the bathroom and he often things about ways to violate his parole. In the end he violates the parole and joins Andy in Mexico.
The court case of Andy was very interesting and how the prosecutor was talking about Andy committed the murder. The judge of the case only focused on the aggravating factors when sentencing Andy to prison. He had motive, gun, bullets with finger prints on it, and he was admitted to be at the scene with a gun. I was surprised at the use of trace evidence considering the time period and the lack of technology, but the courts used finger prints and tire tracks to connect Andy to the crime. The books talked about mitigating factors are often ignored and in this it was overlooked as well. The judge evens say that he sentenced Andy because he seemed a cold personality and that has some bias involved in it.
From the beginning of the movie we see how a prison can break the spirit of a person just by walking into the prison. They are stripped naked and forced to walk through to their cells naked. This was done is the Stanford experiment to break the person to nothing. Then when the light are finally shut off that the realization and pressure of being in prison gets to the new prisoners. It was strange to see the other prisoners take bets on who would break down. The harassment from the other prisoners adds to the world of being in prison and how some of them coupe with being in prison. Some become suppliers and help prisoners get their hands on outside materials to help get along in prison. This would be one way to keep connection with the outside world, since the whole point of prison to cut them off and break all ties to society outside the walls. From the Stanford experiment had solitary confinement and this movie had the “hole” to further break down the prisoner. It was a way to keep control and punish trouble prisoners. Andy in this movie tried to fight the system by not excepting the norms of a prison and trying to keep a connection with the outside world. The isolation inside this small space with no light cuts the prisoner off from other prisons which is their only form of human interaction and people need to socialize to keep sane. He becomes business man inside the prison and fought for prison reform to help prisons better for prisoners. Similar to prisons today he got new books and helps a prisoner get an education to get out of prison.
The actually system inside this prison is full of corruption and guards that abuse their power over the prisoners. The head guard is one that fully enjoys the power he has and does not hold back from proving that he is in charge. He continues to physically break down the prisoners and keep control of the prison. He evens commits murder to cover up what the warden was doing to make money off the prisoners. The warden is major religious person and uses it throughout this prison, but is a greedy man and will to use the prisoners for his own personal gain. The warden talked about how he was trying to use rehabilitation on prisoners through work outside the prison, but also saw it as a way to make money. This movie shows great example of how prisons were before prisoners were giving rights and freedoms while in prison.
Key words: institutionalization, parole, aggravating factors, trace evidence.

Shawshank Redemption is probably one of the most realistic and candid prison depictions, everything from the violence from the guards and between inmates to the special treatment for those who have special skill, right down to the out right corruption within the prison system. Within the first few minutes of the movie, during Andy's trial they touch upon the idea of stress and memory loss when Andy states that he doesn't remember what happened after he ditched his gun because he was drunk and confused. Considering the high level of stress he would have felt at the time knowing that just beyond the walls of the house he was parked outside of lay his wife and her lover, and to add to that the toll alcohol takes on your memory, it is very likely that he would have had little to no idea what he did once he had thrown his gun in the river.

They also addressed, rather obviously the mental effects of prison life on individuals, both guards and inmates. Relating back to the study we previewed for our blog post last week, they identified two major types of mentality in the guards. First brutal but fair, and there is an excellent example of one of these guards in the movie. He is the captain of the prison guard and seems to be the warden's right hand man. He is so brutal, that right when Andy gets to Shawshank, the captain beats one of the men so harshly that he dies before the doctor can get to him in the morning. What's interesting is that he isn't punishing him for necessiarly doing anything wrong, but rather for crying on his first night, and so the captain makes an example of him. We also see how mean and cruel he is when Andy approaches him on the roof and he almost throws him off for talking to him about his wife, until he realizes that he's trying to help him. Then you think he's only out to get the good guys, until you see him rape and beat "The Sister" so badly that he never walks again. This mentality of being tough and harsh, but fair is what gains the captain so much respect both from the inmates and the other guards whom he is actually in charge of.
The second type of guard is a more helpful and sympathetic guard. We don't have a really good example of just one of these characters in this film, however we do notice when the guards are helpful in giving a knowing glance to either an inmate or an outside contractor about the contents of a package of laundry or what have you. Or when they have the outdoor detail and they tar the roof, Red pays one of the guards so that he and his buddies will get to be the ones who have the opportunity to go outside and work, if only for a week or so. These two different types of guards, although they seem too hollywood, and much like perfect opposites, they do appear in real prisons. As we notice from the study done, that some of the guards, based upon either their personalities, or other traits, they simply take to discplining others better. While some of the other people who become prison guards believe that you can be rehabilitated, or helped in some way, and therefore are more sympathetic and understanding of the prisoner's needs and wants.

Next is the mentality of the prison inmate, we again look to the study and see the same patterns of initially falling into the system, then out right rebellion of the institution until you accept that you're going to be in prison for a very long time, and you then become institutionalized and the prison way becomes your life. You also see the inter inmate abuse of "The Sisters" toward Andy, and they beat and rape him. Andy makes a comment, "I don't think it would help if I explained to them that I'm not homosexual." And Red replies, "Neither are they." This highlights a really important aspect of the prison life with regards to how respect and dominance are shown and gained within a prison. Because for the guards, they already have an assumed authority, however all the inmates are on an even field, so they have to assert themselves in other ways. "The Sisters" for example, use force and brutality, similar to the captain, where as Red uses his ties with the guards and the outside world to gain respect because he is a person who can have things smuggled into the prison.

They also discuss the idea of becoming institutionalized. Being institutionalized means basically that the prison is your home, and your whole way of life depends upon it simply because you've been in the system for such a long time. The most extreme case of this sort of mental habituality that people fall into once they've spent most of their lives in prison is Brooks. He is a very old man when he gets out of prison, and has been there I believe since he was in his twenties or thirties. As he enters society again, he makes the comment, "The world went and got its self into a big damn hurry." He has been removed from the technology and the times and the culture of the world for so long, that he can't handle all of the changes. Due to his inability to cope with the world now, he starts to think about ways to get back into prison. And you always hear of such high recitivism rates and wonder, why on earth anyone would want to go back to prison. However, Brooks really shows us that once you become institutionalized, it's nearly impossible to reenter a society that has gone so long without you. You feel like you don't belong, when while he was at the prison he had a job, and people knew who he was and what he was about, outside he's nothing. Brooks couldn't handle the new culture and he killed himself. You can also see the signs that some of the men are becoming institutionalized not by their actions, but by their reactions to the new young men that occasionally enter Shawshank. There is an extreme difference in the culture that is apparent in every thing about the young kid who comes in and Andy helps him earn his GED. He looks, walks, and talks like Elvis Presley. His whole attitude about life is completely different based solely on the social norms and psychology of the time. Once he enters the prison, that's when Red begins to believe that he's institutionalized and he slowly becomes morbid about his parole instead of excited as he used to be.

This movie obviously depicts many relevant aspects of the legal system, as well as the psychology and social aspects of the prison life.

Terms: guards, stress and memory loss, the toll alcohol takes on your memory, mental effects of prison life, inmates, warden's, personalities, or other traits, rehabilitated, institutionalized, inter inmate abuse, recitivism rates, social norms and psychology of the time, parole

This weeks movie blog came in the form of a great movie: The Shawshank Redemption. The Shawshank Redemption is a great movie that depicts the hardship, struggle, and corruption of the prison system back in the day. I have no doubt that some prisons are still like this today. I had seen this movie a couple of times before and after watching it again I noticed many themes from chapters 13, 16, and 17 in our textbook.

Right from the start of the film I began identifying things I had learned this semester in class. In the beginning, the main character Andy is on trial for the murder of his wife and her lover. This is a capital offense, in which if he is found guilty he will either be sentenced to life in prison without parole or the death penalty. The prosecutor present the evidence to the jury in the forms of physical trace evidence and forensic identification, such as the supposed fingerprints that Andy left behind. He painted a picture of Andy's psychological disposition by pointing out that eight shots were fired from a gun that holds six bullets, meaning that he reloaded and kept firing on the two victims. This shows the stability and controllability of Andy's actions. The prosecutor also paints of a picture of external and internal causes when he describes how Andy had been drinking and came home to his wife with another man. This caused Andy to lose it and commit the brutal murders in question. One thing that I didn't like was that Andy's defense attorney did not instill any reasonable doubt into the jury, which is an effective way to get the jury to deliberate in depth of the crime and accompanying evidence.

Once the jury deliberation had been completed, the announced that they had found Andy guilty of the capital offense. The judge sentenced Andy to a double life sentence. I was a little confused at this part, because the judge did not seem to use determinant sentencing or guided discretion. I thought that it would be a two phase trial and that after Andy was found guilty they would enter the penalty phase to determine whether he gets life in prison with no parole or the death sentence. However,
I remembered the time period of this movie and realized that this was probably way before the court system changed the way capital punishment was sentenced and carried out.

After Andy was sentenced and arrived at prison, I noticed many more themes relevant to our class. First, Andy's sentence of life in prison served two objectives of punishment: incapacitation, retribution, and deterrence. Andy was incapacitated in order to protect the general public and society from his actions. He received retribution for his actions in the form of prison. Lastly, prison acted as a deterrence to future actions. Deterrence is a behavioral psychology and behavioral modification principle. A punishment harsher than the behavior is administered to deter the individual from committing the behavior again and to deter other members of society from committing the behavior in the first place. For most, the benefits for emitting the behavior do not outweigh the costs.

When Andy begins prison life he first learns of the prison subculture. He goes through a process of prisonization and learns the values, norms, and languages of prison life. The process of prisonization can change and harden people. This is evident when Brooks is released from prison and cannot adjust back to the outside word. He thinks about committing a crime so they will take him back to prison because that is all he knows, but he ultimately decides to take his own life.

A lot of this movie reminds me of the Stanford Prison Experiment. The prison depicted in this movie is full of corruption and abuse carried out by the guards and warden. Prisoners are humiliated, emasculated, and made anonymous. Violence between the prisoners themselves is abundant and harsh. The guards seem to have their own set of rules and use physical and psychological punishment with the inmates.

Towards the end of this movie a new prisoner enters Andy's group of friends and tell Andy his cell mate confessed to him the crimes that Andy was convicted of. This reminds me in class when we talked about all the wrongful convictions and of the innocent people being incarcerated and wrongly put to death. When Andy goes to the warden with this information, the warden kills the new prisoner, furthering the showing of corruption and power in prison. From this point on I was rooting for Andy to escape and I was glad when he finally took his own rightful freedom back.

Terms: Defense, Prosecution, Judge, Jury, Defendant, Capital Offense, Jury Deliberation, Forensic Identification, Physical Trace Evidence, Psychological Disposition, Stability, Controllability, Internal causes, External Causes, Reasonable doubt, Determinant sentencing, guided discretion, penalty phase, death penalty, retribution, incapacitation, deterrence, behavioral psychology, behavior modification, prisonization, prison subculture, Stanford Prison Experiment, wrongful conviction