November 20, 1932

November 20, 1932, is the date of John Coffey's execution, the last time Paul Edgecombe would ever walk the Green Mile with a condemned prisoner. It is the fixed point around which the entire narrative of the fall of 1932 revolves, the day the state of Tennessee puts to death a man Edgecombe has come to believe is innocent of the crime for which he was sentenced. The execution is the final, irreversible act of a system that has already claimed Eduard Delacroix in a botched electrocution and William Wharton in a shooting, and it marks the end of Edgecombe's career as an executioner.

The Setting and the Witnesses

The execution takes place in the storage room at the end of the Green Mile, the same room where Old Sparky sits on its plank platform. The weather has turned cold and seasonable, a stark contrast to the unseasonable heat and thunderstorms that accompanied Delacroix's death. The witness section is sparsely filled, with perhaps fourteen people, half the number that had attended Delacroix's execution. Among them are Klaus and Marjorie Detterick, the parents of the murdered twins, who have come to see the man they believe killed their daughters die. Sheriff Homer Cribus is also present, overflowing his chair as usual, but Deputy Rob McGee, who had helped arrest Coffey, has chosen not to attend. The doctor stands against the wall with his black bag between his feet, as unobtrusive as ever.

The Final Walk and the Prayer

Paul Edgecombe, Dean Stanton, and Harry Terwilliger go to Coffey's cell to escort him to the chair. Coffey is calm, having told Edgecombe two days earlier that he is tired of the pain he feels from the world and wants to go. He has requested meatloaf for his last meal and has refused a preacher, asking instead that Edgecombe say a prayer with him. In Edgecombe's office, Coffey kneels and prays a child's prayer: "Baby Jesus, meek and mild, pray for me, an orphan child. Be my strength, be my friend, be with me until the end. Amen." He then helps Edgecombe to his feet, reversing the usual role of guard assisting prisoner. As they walk the Green Mile, Coffey tells Edgecombe he dreamed of Mr. Jingles in Mouseville, with children laughing at his tricks, and of the two little blonde girls there, fine and laughing with them.

The Execution and Coffey's Last Words

Brutus Howell is out front for this execution, responsible for capping Coffey and giving the order to roll on two. Edgecombe and Terwilliger kneel to clamp Coffey's ankles, using modified clamps with welded extensions to accommodate his enormous calves. Coffey flinches when the clamp pinches him. As Howell steps forward to place the mask over Coffey's face, Coffey begs not to be put in the dark, saying he is afraid of the dark. Edgecombe grants this last request, and the mask is not used. Howell places the brine-soaked sponge in the cap and puts the cap on Coffey's head. When asked if he has anything to say, Coffey speaks six words: "I'm sorry for what I am." Marjorie Detterick screams at him, but he does not respond. Edgecombe gives the order to roll on two. The current surges through Coffey, his body surges forward against the chest strap, and three overhead lights blow out. His eyes meet Edgecombe's for a moment, aware, and then he is dead. It is quick, and Edgecombe later reflects that it was probably not painless, but it was quick.

Aftermath and Significance

After the execution, Edgecombe drives home at dawn. He sits on his back steps and weeps, not just for Coffey but for all of them. The execution of John Coffey is the last execution Edgecombe ever participates in. He and Brutus Howell had agreed, after finding the colored splinters of Mr. Jingles's spool in the restraint room, that they could not do this work any longer. Coffey's death marks the end of an era on E Block, and the beginning of Edgecombe's long, haunted life. The date November 20, 1932, becomes a permanent landmark in his memory, the day he helped kill a gift of God.