Question: Andy breaks out, grabs the money, and sends his evidence of wrongdoing to the newspapers. His evidence is so convincing that the cops arrest the head guard and the warden kills himself. So why does Andy hightail it to Mexico? The papers have the story of a lifetime. They're going to complete the investigation that the warden prevented. Andy's going to be a martyr and a hero and clear his name with family and friends. He'll get rich just suing the government for false imprisonment. So why does he opt for life on the lam? ("Don't worry, Red. They'll NEVER find us here in Mexico. You and me, we just blend in.")
Captain Defenestrator
11th Aug 2014
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Answer: As stated before, the only witness to Elmo's confession was killed. So even the newspapers would not likely turn up any evidence admissible in court. Not to mention that Elmo's confession doesn't expressly state who the parties were. He says a golf pro but that seems to be the main description that could be used to identify any party which in itself is almost worthless. Also keep in mind the times and Era this takes place. You didn't have the groups, or even public sway, that would fight for innocence. While corruption isn't new, even in these times, from officials and such... There is still a relative belief by the general public that officials are always right and criminals are always guilty and liars. Think of it like this, even today... It is still incredibly hard to get a judgment overturned or voided and that's with groups like the innocence project and general public aware of innocent people given guilty sentences... Back then, it would have been an almost foregone conclusion for most appeals to always be denied and would have taken a mountain of evidence, credible evidence, to sway a judgment in favor of the defense. Also as to suing the government... That's far from any realization. First, it's hard to sue the government and in many cases is immune to liability, i.e. Can't be sued... But consider the time and Era again... Courts don't like admitting errors NOW, so back in that Era... I'd seriously doubt any judge would've even heard a lawsuit against the government if it weren't outright refused by the governments exemption from liability claims. Also, keep in mind that it wasn't a court that convicted him but a jury of his peers. Finally, overshadowing all of what I mentioned above is Andy Dufrane himself. What reason... What reason at all should Andy have ANY faith that he'd be exonerated. Forget about the crime of escaping the prison and whether he'd serve time for that or got a sympathetic judge who would have written that off either as time he's already served for a crime he didn't commit or because had the judicial system not failed him initially with a wrongful conviction, he wouldn't have HAD an opportunity to break the law. Why should Andy have ANY faith that events he set in motion would ever result with his conviction overturned. He couldn't foretell the warden taking his own life and no one would've believed a convict or taken his word over anything else. So needless to say, there is every reason for him to "high-tail-it" as far as he can go. Remember that jury of his peers... He's already been an innocent man sent to prison for a crime he didn't commit... Why in all heck would he ever believe that anybody would think differently if he stayed. No... Given the times and situations involved... Andy made the correct decision.
17th Feb 2014
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Question: How is it that Andy is able to frame the warden for money laundering without incriminating himself in the process?
Chosen answer: Andy created the books so that everything was in the name of the Randall Stevens alias he created. The real books pointed to Warden Norton AND Randall Stevens, but didn't have Andy's name on them. As far as the law knows, Norton's accomplice was a guy named Randall Stevens who skipped town with the money before ratting him out.
If the laundered funds case was thoroughly investigated on an immediate basis (within a couple of days after the Bugle's writer got the material), the alias of Randall Stevens would have come out almost immediately, and of course his description would match that of someone who just escaped from prison, and even Barney Fife could have put two and two together.
Valid. However, by the time that would happen, Andy would be over the border and the warden would still get taken down, so his bigger goals would still be accomplished. They'll update Andy Dufresne's wanted poster to read "Alias Randall Stevens," but that's the biggest consequence for Andy.
8th Apr 2013
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Question: With so many bank accounts under a phony name, where were all the monthly bank statements going?
Answer: Bank statements weren't mailed as they were in more recent times. In those days, when you went to the bank, a passbook or ledger was updated and provided to you. Remember, in those times everything was hand-written and manually recorded. Statements weren't created automatically and mass-mailed.
Chosen answer: Possibly post office boxes, or maybe even to the prison directly.
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Answer: Andy is still under a life sentence for the murder of his wife. With Tommy dead, there's no one to corroborate the story that Elmo Blatch confessed, so it would be Andy's word against Elmo's. And since escaping from prison is a crime in itself, they'd be looking for him for that as well. Best to take the money and flee the country.
Captain Defenestrator