1 The story is told by former prison guard, Paul Edgecombe, of events in Cold Mountain penitentiary during 1932 when an unusual inmate by the name of John Coffey is brought to the prison. He and his fellow guards are assigned to watch inmates on death row, known as The Green Mile. John Coffey has been convicted of murdering two young girls and sentenced to death but there's something about him that makes Paul question whether this man could have committed that crime.