Synopsis 3
Meanwhile, Warden Norton profits from Andy's knowledge and devises a scheme whereby he puts prison inmates to work on public projects which he wins by outbidding other contractors (prisoners are cheap labor). Occasionally, he allows other contractors to score projects as long as the bribe is good enough. Andy launders the money by setting up several accounts in several banks, along with several investments, using the fake identity of Randall Stephens, a man who only exist in paperwork, created by Andy himself through his knowledge of the system and mail-ordered forms. Randall Stephens officially has a birth certificate, social security number and driver's license. Should anyone ever investigate about the scheme; they will chase a man who only exists on paper. Andy shares the details with Red, noting that he had to "go to prison to learn how to be a crook."
In 1965, a young prisoner named Tommy (Gil Bellows) comes to Shawshank to serve time for breaking and entering. Tommy is easy going, charismatic, cocky and popular among the other inmates and is befriended by both Andy and Red. When Tommy explains that he's been going in and out of prison ever since he was 13 years old, Andy suggests that Tommy should consider another line of work besides theft because he seems to be not so good at it. The suggestion really gets to Tommy, who is also a father to a young child, and he asks Andy to help him work on earning his high school equivalency diploma. Though Tommy is a good student, he is still frustrated when he takes the exam itself, crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash. Andy retrieves it and sends it in anyway. Tommy asks Red about Andy's case which Red explains. Upon hearing the story, Tommy is visibly upset. He then tells Andy and Red the story of a former cellmate of his from another prison who boasted about killing a man who was a pro golfer at the country club he worked at, along with his lover. The woman's husband, a banker, had gone to prison for those murders.
With this new information, Andy, full of hope, meets with the warden, expecting Norton to help him get a new trial with Tommy as a witness. The reaction from Norton is completely contrary to what Andy hoped for: the warden rejects it on the basis that Tommy is lying and was merely trying to curry favor with his mentor. When Andy says emphatically that he would never reveal the money laundering schemes he set up for Norton over the years, the warden becomes furious and orders him to solitary for a month. The inmates discuss the sentence mentioning it is the longest time in solitary that they've ever heard of. They also realize that Andy may truly be innocent after all and has spent almost 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Tommy receives a letter from the board of education announcing that he has passed the exam and now owns a high school diploma. A guard pass the news to Andy in his solitary cell which makes him smile a little.
One night, Tommy is escorted outside at night to have a private meeting with the warden. Warden Norton asks him if the story he told Andy is true and if he would be willing to testify on Andy's behalf. Tommy enthusiastically agrees. The warden smiles at him before nodding to Hadley to shoot him dead.
When the warden visits Andy in solitary, he tells him that Tommy tried to escape and that Hadley had no choice but to shoot him. Andy doesn't buy that story and tells Norton that ''everything'' stops and that he's not going to work for him anymore. The warden threatens Andy to shut down the library, burn all the books, and move Andy to a much different cell in a much different part of the prison with the most hardened criminals should he stop working for him. He then leaves and orders Andy to another month in solitary to think about things.
In 1965, a young prisoner named Tommy (Gil Bellows) comes to Shawshank to serve time for breaking and entering. Tommy is easy going, charismatic, cocky and popular among the other inmates and is befriended by both Andy and Red. When Tommy explains that he's been going in and out of prison ever since he was 13 years old, Andy suggests that Tommy should consider another line of work besides theft because he seems to be not so good at it. The suggestion really gets to Tommy, who is also a father to a young child, and he asks Andy to help him work on earning his high school equivalency diploma. Though Tommy is a good student, he is still frustrated when he takes the exam itself, crumpling it up and tossing it in the trash. Andy retrieves it and sends it in anyway. Tommy asks Red about Andy's case which Red explains. Upon hearing the story, Tommy is visibly upset. He then tells Andy and Red the story of a former cellmate of his from another prison who boasted about killing a man who was a pro golfer at the country club he worked at, along with his lover. The woman's husband, a banker, had gone to prison for those murders.
With this new information, Andy, full of hope, meets with the warden, expecting Norton to help him get a new trial with Tommy as a witness. The reaction from Norton is completely contrary to what Andy hoped for: the warden rejects it on the basis that Tommy is lying and was merely trying to curry favor with his mentor. When Andy says emphatically that he would never reveal the money laundering schemes he set up for Norton over the years, the warden becomes furious and orders him to solitary for a month. The inmates discuss the sentence mentioning it is the longest time in solitary that they've ever heard of. They also realize that Andy may truly be innocent after all and has spent almost 20 years in prison for a crime he didn't commit.
Tommy receives a letter from the board of education announcing that he has passed the exam and now owns a high school diploma. A guard pass the news to Andy in his solitary cell which makes him smile a little.
One night, Tommy is escorted outside at night to have a private meeting with the warden. Warden Norton asks him if the story he told Andy is true and if he would be willing to testify on Andy's behalf. Tommy enthusiastically agrees. The warden smiles at him before nodding to Hadley to shoot him dead.
When the warden visits Andy in solitary, he tells him that Tommy tried to escape and that Hadley had no choice but to shoot him. Andy doesn't buy that story and tells Norton that ''everything'' stops and that he's not going to work for him anymore. The warden threatens Andy to shut down the library, burn all the books, and move Andy to a much different cell in a much different part of the prison with the most hardened criminals should he stop working for him. He then leaves and orders Andy to another month in solitary to think about things.
