that depends, mr.--?
the green mile. i've heard of it. lost a few clients your way.
which client? now you got my curiosity aroused.
ah, coffey. he causing you problems?
cries, does he? well, he's got a lot to cry about, i'd say. you know what he did.
what exactly are you trying to find out? satisfy my curiosity, i'll see if i can satisfy yours.
why? has he said anything?
you'd think so, but you'd be wrong. believe me, we tried. it's like he dropped out of the sky.
we're in a depression. a third of the country's out of work.
you didn't come up here to ask me whether he might have killed before. you came up here to see if i think he did it at all. that's it, isn't it?
one seldom sees a less ambiguous case. he was found with the victims in his arms. blurted out a confession right then and there.
everyone is entitled to a defense.
y'all listen to your momma, now!
tell you something. you listen close, too, because it might be something you need to know.
we had us a dog. no particular breed, but gentle. ready to lick your hand or fetch a stick. just a sweet mongrel, you know the kind. in many way, a good mongrel dog is like you negro. you get to know it, and often you get to love it. it is of no particular use, but you keep it around because you think it loves you. if you're lucky, mr. edgecomb, you never have to find out any different. my wife and i were not so lucky. caleb. come here for a second.
please, son.
he has the one eye. i suppose he's lucky not to be blind. we get down on our knees and thank god for that much at least. right caleb? okay, go on in now.
that dog attacked my boy for no reason. just got it into his mind one day. same with john coffey. he was sorry afterwards, of that i have no doubt. but those little girls stayed raped and murdered nonetheless. maybe he's never done it before--my dog never bit before, but i didn't concern myself with that. i went out there with my rifle and grabbed his collar and blew his brains out.
i'm as enlightened as the next man, mr. edgecomb. i would not bring back slavery for all the tea in china. i believe we have to be humane and generous in our efforts to solve the race problem. but we have to remember that the negro will bite if he gets the chance, just like a mongrel dog will bite if it crosses its mind to do so. is coffey guilty? yes, he is. don't you doubt it, and don't you turn your back on him. you might get away with it once or even a hundred times. but in the end.
you understand?
i'm gonna have to tear that old doghouse down one of these days.