The LAwshank Redemption words by: will broderick* *Best read in the voice of Morgan Freeman The first time I ever laid eyes on Andy Stewfresne, I didn’t think very much of him. He was giving a contract law seminar in the prison yard of Lawshank State Penitentiary, the kind of place where they lock you up and throw away the key, wrongful imprisonment be damned. That was my first impression of him. But as I grew to know him, I realised there was something different about him. Something about the way he talked. He made any convicted felon want to accept his offer. He strode through the yard like a man without a care or worry in the world. Andy had been sent to Lawshank for having engaged in unconscionable conduct. He was sentenced to serve two entire law degrees via Zoom. Andy, however, maintained his innocence, but then again, so did every other guy in the joint. Andy found it difficult to adjust to Lawshank life at first, but slowly, over the course of the ensuing years, he became one of us. It was also during this time that he caught the attention of the Warden Giancaspro, a seemingly pious pastor who instituted a systemic reign of terror by forcing inmates to study the PPSA and AGLC in rap form. The Warden took a shine to Andy and pressganged him into service. Andy had no choice but to institute force majeure clauses, which covered horrific ‘accidents’ in the yard. He was also made to initiate offers with other faith leaders of the Warden’s ilk, like former Archbishop Spyridon Ermogenous, so that they could proselytise to the prison populace. Andy complied, always making sure to judge whether or not the postal acceptance rule applied in accordance with Stevenson, Jacques & Co v McLean .
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