Damian Torres

Question: This applies to most prison movies, but is most prevalent in Shawshank. How, roughly, would a prison contraband system like what Red has set up work? It's made clear that Red can get pretty much anything, for the right price, and it's shown that the contraband he "orders" comes in with laundry and the like - so he obviously has somebody on the outside that finds out what Red needs, buys it, and then has it smuggled in. But how does Red get his "order" out? And what's in it for the outside contacts? They're paying for the posters, whiskey, playing cards, etc with their money and taking a risk by sneaking it into the prison. what is Red doing to make it worth their while? I know prisoners make money for their work but it's a very small amount and there's no way he could earn enough to make a profit. Red has a life sentence, so he can't promise his buddies on the outside (smuggling in the goods) that he'll pay them back when he gets out. Also, on the inside (of every prison movie ever) prisoners always do their bartering with packs of cigarettes as currency. Where do all these smokes come from? Do prisons issue rations of cigarettes? They can't all be contraband.