Green Mile Part 4

Percy stomps on Mr. Jingles.


DELACROIX
No! Mr. Jingles!

Del is sad.  He cries.

DEL
No! No! No! You kill my mouse.

PERCY
l knew l'd get him sooner or later.
It was just a matter of time, really.

Percy walks away.

DELACROIX
You fucking cruel bastard!

Coffey reaches for Mr. Jingles.

COFFEY
Give him to me. Give him to me. Might still be time.

Paul picks up Mr. Jingles and hands Mr. Jingles to Coffey.

BRUTUS
What are you doing? Paul? What the hell--?

DELACROIX
Please, John. Help him. Please, Johnny, help him.

Coffey cups Mr. Jingles in his hands and blows on him softly.

BRUTUS
Oh, dear Jesus. The tail. Look at the tail.

Mr. Jingles’s tail stirs. Coffey’s hands brighten.
Coffey wheezes. He is coughing. Del is laughing and Paul
hands the mouse back to him.

DEAN
What did you do?

COFFEY
I helped Del's mouse......he's a circus mouse.
Gonna live in a mouse city......down in....

BRUTUS
Florida.

COFFEY
Boss Percy bad. He mean. He step on Del's mouse.
I took it back, though.

Del thanks John in French.

DELACROIX
Merci.

PAUL
Brute......you come along with me.
You fellas go on back to your cribbage game.

Paul and Brutus go to Percy in the next room.

PERCY
Now, don't start in on me. It was just a mouse.
Never belonged here in the first place.

PAUL
The mouse is fine. Just fine. You're no better at mouse-killing
than you are......at anything else around here.

PERCY
Yeah, you expect me to believe that? Huh?
I heard the goddamn thing crunch.

PAUL
Aren't you glad Mr. Jingles is okay? After all those talks we had
about...keeping the prisoners calm? Aren't you relieved?

PERCY
What kind of game is this?

PAUL
It's no game. See for yourself. Go on.

Percy goes to Delacroix's cell.  He is amazed.  The mouse is fine.

DEL
Don't let nothing happen to Mr. Jingle.

Percy goes back to Paul and Brutus.

PERCY
You switched them. You switched them somehow, you bastards.

BRUTUS
I always keep a spare mouse in my wallet for occasions such as this.

PERCY
Yeah, you playing with me, huh? Both of you.
Just who the hell you think you are?

Brutus grabs Percy.

PERCY
Aah!

PAUL
We're the people you work with. But not for long.
Percy, l want your word.

PERCY
My word?

PAUL
I put you out front for Del......you put in your transfer to Briar Ridge
the very next day.

PERCY
Well, what if I just call up certain people and tell them you're harassing me?
Bullying me.

PAUL
Go ahead. I promise you'll leave your share of blood on the floor.

PERCY
Over a mouse?

PAUL
No. But four men will swear you stood by... ...while Wild Bill tried to strangle Dean to death.
About that, people will care. Even your uncle the governor will care about that.

BRUTUS
Thing like that goes on your work record.
Work record can follow a man around for a long, long time.

PAUL
I put you out front... ...you put in for that transfer.
That's the deal.

PERCY
All right.

PAUL
You make a promise to a man, you shake his hand.

Paul makes Percy stand up from his chair, and pulls out his hand, then forces him to shake.

DELACROIX
Hey, boys. No, now, say hey, Mr. Jingles.

PAUL
Eduard Delacroix, will you step forward?

DELACROIX
Boss Edgecomb.

PAUL
Yes, Del?

DELACROIX
Don't let nothing happen to Mr. Jingle, okay?
Here. You take him.

Del puts the mouse on Paul's shoulder.

PAUL
Del. I can't have a mouse on my shoulder while......you know.

COFFEY
I'll take him, boss. Just for now, if Del don't mind.

DELACROIX
Yeah. Yeah, you take him, John. You take him till this foolishment be done.
You gonna take him to Florida, to that Mouseville?

PAUL
We'll do it together, most likely.

BRUTUS
Maybe take a little vacation time.

PAUL
Yeah.

DELACROIX
People pay a dime apiece to see him. Two cents for the kids.
Ain't that right, Boss Howell?

BRUTUS
That's right, Del.

Delacroix thanks Brutus and Paul.

DELACROIX
You're a good man, Boss Howell. You too, Boss Edgecomb.

Delacroix cries .

DELACROIX
I sure wish I could've met you guys somewheres else.

Delacroix speaks French to his mouse. The prison guards and
Delacroix begins to walk.

INT. EXECUTION AREA
A woman in the audience speaks to a man.

WOMAN
Hope he's good and scared. Hope he knows the fires are stoked
and that Satan's imps are waiting. Percy looks at Delacroix.

PAUL
Del, it's all right.

Delacroix sits down on the electric chair and is strapped in.

PERCY
Roll on one.

Electricity is humming in the place of execution.

INT. COFFEY'S CELL

COFFEY
You be still, Mr. Jingles. You be so quiet and so still.

INT. EXECUTION AREA

PERCY
Eduard Delacroix......you've been condemned to die by a jury of your peers.
Sentence imposed by a judge in good standing in this state.
You have anything to say before sentence is carried out?




Delacroix cries.

DELACROIX
I sorry for what l-- I sorry for what l do.
I give anything to take it back. But l can't.
God have mercy on me.

Delacroix speaks French.

DELACROIX
Amen.

Delacroix is looking at Paul.

DELACROIX
Don't forget about Mouseville.

Percy is looking at Delacroix.

PERCY
Hey...there's no such place. That's just a fairy tale these guys
told you to keep you quiet. Just thought you should know, faggot.

Delacroix is praying in French.  Percy puts the sponge on Delacroix's head,
but he does not soak it in water.

PERCY
Eduard Delacroix...electricity shall now be passed through your
body until you are dead...in accordance with state law.
God have mercy on your soul.
Roll on two!


The executioner rolls a lever, sending a electric current to Del.
Del is groaning. Coffey pray and feels Del's pain too.
Wild Bill shouting and swinging in the jail cell.

PAUL
The sponge is dry.

BRUTUS
What?

There are sparks and smoke coming from Del.

PAUL
The goddamn sponge is dry!

BRUTUS
Well, don't you stop it! Don't you do it! It's too late for that.

Del is screaming.

WOMAN
Is this normal?

MAN
God, the smell.

WILD BILL
He's cooking now! They cooking him good! They're about done, I reckon!

Mr. Jingles escapes from Coffey's hand.
Coffey is screaming. Wild Bill is grunting

WILD BILL
We're gonna have a hoedown! He's cooking now! We gonna have a hoedown!
Cution gumbo. Give me some! Give me some! I'm smelling gumbo! l'm smelling--
I said, give me some! I smell it! Aah! Smell it!

People are standing up. Delacroix continues shouting.

HARRY
Should l kill the juice?

PAUL
No! Roll, for chrisssake, roll!

Fire comes out from Deracroix's body.
The Crowd moves to the gate.

WILD BILL
He's frying now! He's frying now!

HAL
Why don't you shut it down?

PAUL
He's still alive. You want me to
shut down while he's still alive?

Paul is holding on to Percy.

PAUL
You watch, you son of a bitch!

HAL
It's all right, folks! It's all under control!
Everybody stay calm! Please, stay calm.

PAUL
Kill it!

The current is cut. Brutus hands Percy a fire extinguisher.

BRUTUS
You do it! You're running this show, ain't you?

Percy extinguishes the body.

PERCY
I didn't know the sponge is supposed to be wet.

Brutus knocks Percy down.

PERCY
Aah!

Paul stops Brutus.

PAUL
Brutal! Brutal, no!

BRUTUS
No! What do you mean, no? You saw what he did!

PAUL
Delacroix's dead! Percy is not worth it!


Paul remonstrates to Brutal.

BRUTUS
So he just gets away with it! Is that how it works?

HAL
What in the blue fuck was that?

Hal questions everyone.

HAL
Jesus Christ. There's puke all over the floor up there.
And the smell.I got Van Hay to open both doors, but that smell
won't go out for five years. That's what l'm betting.
And that asshole Wharton is singing about it! You can hear him up there!

Hal is angry at every guard.

PAUL
Can he carry a tune, Hal?

Paul questions the Warden.

HAL
Okay, boys, okay. Now, what in the hell happened?

PAUL
An execution. A successful one.

HAL
How in the name of Christ can you call that a success?

PAUL
Eduard Delacroix is dead. Isn't he?

HAL
Percy...

Percy’s face is pale.

HAL
Something to say?

PERCY
I didn't know the sponge is supposed to be wet.

HAL
How many years you spend pissing on a toilet seat...
before someone told you to put it up?

PAUL
Percy fucked up, Hal. Pure and simple.

HAL
That's your official position?

PAUL
Don't you think it should be? He's putting in for a transfer
request to Briar Ridge tomorrow. Moving on to bigger and better
things. Isn't that right, Percy?

PERCY
Yeah. Yeah.

INT. WILD BILL'S CELL
Wild Bill is singing in a loud voice.


WILD BILL
Barbecue
Me and you
Stinky, pinky
Phew phew phew
Weren't Billy, Jilly--

Paul has a nightstick at the ready to Wild Bill.

PAUL
You're 10 seconds away from spending
the rest of your life in the padded room.

Wild Bill blows the wood chips.
Paul stands in front of Coffey's jail cell.

COFFEY
Poor old Del.

PAUL
Yeah. Poor old Del. John...you okay?

COFFEY
I could feel it from here.

PAUL
What do you mean? You could hear it. Is that what you mean?
You could hear it.

COFFEY
He out of it now, though. He the lucky one.
No matter how it happened, Del the lucky one.

PAUL
Where's Mr. Jingles?

COFFEY
He run away under that door.

Don't think he'll be back. He felt it too, through me.
Didn't mean to hurt him none. All that hurt just spill out.
Awful tired now, boss. Dog-tired.

PAUL
Me too, John. Me too.

INT. PAUL'S CAR
Paul and Jan go to see Hal and Melinda at their house.

PAUL
I hate this.

JAN
I know.

EXT. HAL'S HOUSE
Paul and Jan see Melinda sitting outside.

JAN
Melinda, hi.

MELINDA
I am so happy to see you.

JAN
Look at you.

PAUL
We missed you at church.

MELINDA
My hair--

JAN
You look fine.

MELINDA
l'm just a mess.

HAL
She's having one of her good days.
I thank God for that.

PAUL
What's a bad day?

HAL
Sometimes she's....She's not herself anymore.
She swears.

PAUL
She swears?

HAL
It just pops out. Most awful language you can imagine.
She doesn't even know she's doing it.I didn't know she'd
ever heard words like that. To hear her say them
in her sweet voice....I'm glad she's having
a good day, Paul. I'm glad for you and Jan.


INT. PAUL'S BEDROOM
Paul can't sleep.

JAN
Honey...if you don't tell me what's on your mind...
l'm afraid l'll have to smother you with a pillow.

PAUL
I'm thinking I love you.
I'm thinking I don't know
what I would do if you were gone.

JAN
Oh.

PAUL
I'm also thinking I'm gonna have the boys over tomorrow.


EXT. PAUL'S YARD
Paul and Jan are eating outside with Harry, Dean and Brutus.


HARRY
Well, you sure do know how to cook chicken.

JAN
Well, thank you.

DEAN
This is one delicious treat, ma'am, before l go to work.

JAN
I'm glad you're enjoying it.

DEAN
Hey, Brutal, you gonna hog all them taters?

BRUTUS
Yes, l am. Harry, you want some potatoes?

Dean tries to take a pan of potatoes.
However, Brutus passes the pan to Harry.

DEAN
Come on, now.

BRUTUS
What?

JAN
Soon we'll just see your feet sticking out of there,
Brutus.

PAUL
You all saw what he did to the mouse.

BRUTUS
I could've gone the rest of the day without you bringing
that up.

DEAN
I could've gone the rest of the year.

PAUL
He did the same thing to me. He put his hands on me.
He took my bladder infection away.

JAN
It's true. When he came home that day, he was...
all better.

DEAN
Oh, now, wait. You're talking about...an authentic healing?
A praise-Jesus miracle?

PAUL
I am.

JAN
Oh, yeah.

BRUTUS
Well, if you say it, I accept it. What's it got to do with us?

JAN
You're thinking about Melinda.

BRUTUS
Melinda? Melinda Moores?

JAN
Yeah. So, Paul...you really think you can help her?


PAUL
It's not a bladder infection or even a busted mouse...
...but there might be a chance.

HARRY
Hold on now. You're talking about our jobs.
Sneak a sick woman into a cellblock?

PAUL
Oh, no. No, no. Hal would never stand for that.
You know him. He wouldn't believe
anything if it fell on him.

BRUTUS
So you're talking about...taking John Coffey to her.
That's more than just our jobs, Paul.
That's prison time, we get caught.

DEAN
Dang right it is.

PAUL
No, not for you, Dean. The way l figure it, you stay back
on the Mile. That way, you can deny everything.

DEAN
Why do l have to stay behind?

PAUL
Well, our boy's grown up...gone off to school. Harry's girls,
they're all married now. Brutal's a single man. You're the
only one here with two children, another one on the way.

HARRY
Let's not discuss this as if we're thinking of doing it.
Brutal, help me out here.

BRUTUS
l'm sure she's a fine woman.

JAN
The finest.

PAUL
What is happening to her is an offense, Brutal...
to the eye and the ear and to the heart.

BRUTAL
I have no doubt. But we don't know her
like you and Jan do.

HARRY
And let's not forget, John Coffey is a murderer.
Now, what if he escapes? I'd hate to lose my job
or go to prison...but l'd hate worse to have
a dead child on my conscience.

PAUL
I don't think that's gonna happen. In fact...
l don't think he did it at all. I do not see God putting
a gift like that...in the hands of a man who'd kill a child.

HARRY
That's a very tender notion, but the man is on death row
for the crime. And plus...he's huge. If he tried to get away,
it'd take a lot of bullets to stop him.

BRUTAL
We'd all have shotguns, in addition to side arms. I'd insist on that.
If he tried anything, anything at all...we'd have to take him down.
You understand?

Paul nods.

BRUTAL
So...tell us what you had in mind.