Shawshank Redemption - Essay Example

This film involves numerous scenarios that relate to criminal law. Murder is among the main issues relating to criminology (OSullivan 321). According to the movie, Andy was imprisoned for life because the fictional Shawshank-State-Penitentiary court in the state of Maine found him guilty of killing his wife and her lover. However, he denied to have committed the murder throughout the movie. Later, Tommy revealed to Andy and Red that another convict had claimed responsibility for the crime, though Warden Norton could not listen to him because of mentioning about the money laundering.

This confirms that the court had punished the wrong person, an occurrence that is still a major issue in the US court system up to date. Another type of crime involved in this film includes the incarceration of Tommy Williams who was imprisoned in 1965 for burglary (Arevshatian and Lewis 61). Unfortunately, Warden Norton ordered his execution on allegations that Tommy was trying to escape out of prison. This was a high level of impunity that should have not gone uninvestigated and unpunished.

It is unfortunate that the crime was committed by the persons whom the society looks upon to rehabilitate and teach criminals how to assimilate into the society and avoid crime. Inefficiency in rehabilitating criminals or ex-criminals is another issue relating to criminology as a discipline. It appears as if the correctional department (prisons) had failed in rehabilitating criminals or ex-criminals to becoming better members of the society. This claim can be supported by the fact that some of the ex-convicts such as Tommy were incarcerated, meaning that they had not fully reformed (Arevshatian and Lewis 64).

In addition, the department did not prepare the inmates in a better way that would enable them cope with the outside life. This argument can be supported by the fact that the elderly inmate who was in