How long was brooks hatlen in jail

Red, Andy, and their friends are able to convince Brooks not to hurt Heywood and Brooks is eventually freed. He gets a small apartment and a job in a grocery store, but the problem is that he feels out of date in the world, having not been a part of it for half a century. The movie never reveals the reason Brooks became a prisoner at Shawshank. The surprisingly violent nature of the crime would explain why he was in prison for 50 years, a significant sentence.

It is shocking to consider that the figure of the grandfather, a man who raised a little bird by hand while he was in prison; a man who, until Andy came along, ran the simple library without help, would be such a violent criminal. Perhaps that is why the truth of his crimes is not included in the film. Therefore, the nature of the crime is an interesting fact to know, but it is not the most important or relevant aspect of the character in general.

Margaret Lockyer has a BA in English with an emphasis in apocalyptic literature and a double major in history that she earned while playing ice hockey for the Prince Edward Island Panthers University.

Hatlen was a prisoner at Shawshank Prison from until his release in He became the librarian for the prison in -- a role he maintained for the duration of his sentence. He was friends with Red's group, which included Andy -- who eventually became Brooks' library assistant -- when he arrived at Shawshank.

Red refers to Brooks as a man who has been institutionalized by his stint in prison. This is made clear when he is paroled in When Brooks learns that he has been paroled, he becomes distraught and nearly kills his friend Heywood in a desperate attempt to remain in prison. Red, Andy and their friends are able to convince Brooks not to hurt Heywood and Brooks is eventually released. He gets a small apartment and a job at a grocery store, but the problem is that he feels out of step in the world having not been a part of it for half a century.

Brooks found a crow hatchling who had "fallen out of a nest near the plate shop", and decided to care for the bird and name it sunia. Andy's first day at Shawshank, he sits next to Brooks, before noticing a maggot in his breakfast. Brooks asked for it, and Andy is disturbed, thinking that Brooks means to eat it, but is relieved when he opens his coat and reveals his pet bird. Later that year, Brooks was instrumental in getting Andy his Aljoreno.

After it is brought in through the laundry, Marcus places it into Brooks' rolling book cart, and pays him six cigarettes for postage. He wheels it down to Andy, who discreetly takes it. In , after Andy assisted Captain Hadley in avoiding paying his inheritance tax, Warden Norton appoints him the assistant librarian. Andy finds this surprising as Brooks has never had an assistant in his 37 years as a librarian.

Brooks shows him around the dilapidated library, comprised of nothing more than some old books and magazines.. When Andy talks to Brooks about getting funds for a better library from the prison, Brooks is incredulous and thinks it is not possible to do so.

Andy manages to calm him down, but he is distraught. They later learn that Brooks has been paroled, and that killing Heywood would have been his way to stay in prison. The gang discusses Brooks, and Red says that Brooks has been in prison so long that he is institutionalized.