Strapping Percy into straitjacket and restraint room

The straitjacketing and confinement of Percy Wetmore in the restraint room is a pivotal act of calculated coercion by Paul Edgecombe, Brutus Howell, and Harry Terwilliger, executed on the night of Eduard Delacroix's botched execution to neutralize Percy's threat and enable the secret night journey to save Melinda Moores. The operation transforms Percy from a protected bully into a helpless, terrified prisoner, exposing the fragility of his power and setting the stage for his catastrophic psychological unravelling.

Planning and Preparation

The plan to confine Percy was conceived during a tense lunch meeting at Paul Edgecombe's house on the day after Delacroix's execution, attended by Edgecombe, Howell, Harry Terwilliger, and Dean Stanton. Edgecombe had already anticipated the need for a straitjacket, having liberated one from the restraint room and stored it in his office the previous night. The straitjacket was a white canvas garment with buttons, snaps, and buckles up the back, designed to immobilize a violent prisoner. The group rehearsed the procedure, knowing that Percy's political connections—he was the nephew of the governor by marriage—made him a dangerous adversary who could not be confronted openly. The confinement was essential to allow Edgecombe, Howell, and Terwilliger to secretly transport John Coffey out of the prison to heal Melinda Moores, the warden's wife, who was dying of a brain tumor. Dean Stanton was assigned to remain on the duty desk and maintain the cover story that Coffey had become upset and been placed in the restraint room.

The Confrontation in the Office

At approximately twelve-forty on the night of Delacroix's execution, after William Wharton had been drugged into unconsciousness with morphine pills dissolved in an R.C. Cola, Edgecombe, Howell, and Terwilliger entered Edgecombe's office, where Percy was sitting behind the desk reading a book titled Caring for the Mental Patient in Institutions. Percy had hidden inside it a pornographic cartoon booklet featuring Popeye and Olive Oyl, which fell out when he was startled. Howell carried the straitjacket concealed behind his back. Percy immediately sensed danger, closed his book, and tried to flee toward the storage room door, but Terwilliger blocked his path with folded arms. Percy shouted, "Let go of me!" and struggled violently, dragging Terwilliger across the room and roughing up the green carpet. He screamed for help, threatening that the guards would have to go all the way to South Carolina to get a meal in a soup kitchen. Howell stepped behind Percy, grabbed his ears, and twisted them like oven dials, causing Percy to shriek in pain and surprise. "Stop that yelling," Howell said, "unless you want to have a pair of the world's most unique teabag caddies." Sobbing like a child, Percy shot his hands out straight in front of him. Edgecombe slid the straitjacket sleeves up his arms, Howell yanked his hands around to his sides so his arms were crossed tightly on his chest, and Terwilliger did up the back and snapped the cross-straps. The entire process took less than ten seconds.

The Walk to the Restraint Room

Percy, now immobilized in the straitjacket, was marched down the Green Mile by the three guards. He stumbled and gasped, begging them to slow down. As they passed John Coffey's cell, Coffey said, "You're a bad man and you deserve to go in that dark place." Percy's face was red and wet with tears, his hair flopping onto his forehead. Terwilliger removed Percy's revolver and his treasured hickory baton from their holsters, telling him he would get them back. Percy replied, "I wish I could say the same about your job. All your jobs. You can't do this to me! You can't!" In the restraint room, Edgecombe produced a roll of friction tape from his pocket. Percy backed away, but Howell grabbed him from behind and held him while Edgecombe slapped the tape over his mouth, winding it around to the back of his head to ensure it stayed. The tape pulled out some of Percy's hair and would leave his lips chapped. The three guards backed away, leaving Percy standing in the middle of the room under the caged light, wearing the straitjacket, breathing through flared nostrils, and making muffled sounds behind the tape. Edgecombe told him, "The quieter you are, the sooner you get out." Terwilliger added, "And if you get lonely, think about Olive Oyl." They left, and Howell locked the door.

Aftermath and Consequences

Percy remained in the restraint room for several hours while Edgecombe, Howell, and Terwilliger transported John Coffey to the Moores house, where Coffey healed Melinda Moores. When they returned, Dean Stanton reported that Percy had initially tried to yell through the tape, cursing, and had occasionally kicked the door, but had otherwise been quiet. The guards released Percy, removed the tape, and returned his gun and baton. Percy was dishevelled, with the red print of Edgecombe's hand still on his cheek. He threatened retaliation but was subdued by Howell's warning that if he went back on his promise to transfer to Briar Ridge, they would find him and "fuck you, not just up the ass but in every hole you own." Percy agreed to consider the matter closed and left the block, but his humiliation and rage were evident. As he walked up the Green Mile, he strayed too close to John Coffey's cell. Coffey reached through the bars, grabbed Percy, and transferred the brain tumor he had taken from Melinda Moores into Percy's body, driving him instantly insane. Percy drew his gun and emptied all six shots into the sleeping William Wharton, killing him. He then stood catatonic, his mind destroyed, and was later committed to Briar Ridge, where he remained silent and blank for the rest of his life. The confinement, intended as a temporary measure to enable a mercy mission, became the direct cause of Percy's permanent psychological destruction and Wharton's death.