Paul edgecomb tom hanks is the head guard on the green mile when a new inmate is brought into his custody : john coffey michael clarke duncan , convicted of the sadistic murder of two young girls . despite his size and the fearsome crimes for which he s serving time , coffey seems to be a kind and well - mannered person who behaves more like an innocent child than a hardened criminal . soon edgecomb and two of his fellow guards , howell david morse and stanton barry pepper , notice something odd about coffey : he s able to perform what seem to be miracles of healing among his fellow inmates , leading them to wonder just what sort of person he could be , and if he could have committed the crimes with which he was charged 绿里奇迹是发生在1935年美国不景气年代的路易斯安那州监狱，汤汉演的狱长保罗，已不知道送过多少个死囚走过这段路，但当他押著身高六尺五寸的黑人哥菲上电椅时，却有莫名的悲痛，哥菲被控虐杀两个十几岁的白人姐妹，但看似凶残暴戾的黑人大只佬，却是心地善良，胸无城府的大好人，而且他有神奇力量，用手一摸就能治疗绝症，通过心灵感应，保罗看到了真正的杀人凶手，但他却无力为哥菲翻案，因而难以释怀
