Paul's extreme longevity is not an intentional curse from John Coffey, but rather the tragic, unintended side effect of receiving a divine charge. When John takes Paul's hand to show him the truth about Wild Bill, he tells him that he had to give him a little bit of himself. This transfer of energy cures Paul's urinary tract infection, but it also infuses him with John's supernatural vitality. Read through an existential framework, this prolonged life becomes a form of penance. Paul did not want to execute John, but he ultimately fulfilled his duty as an officer of the state, participating in the state-sanctioned killing of a literal miracle. The narrative punishes this compliance not with damnation, but with the slow, agonizing watch of mortality. Paul is condemned to witness everyone he loves—his wife Jan, his children, and his friends—wither and die while he remains intact. He describes this survival as his atonement for executing a gift from God. The film leaves him in a state of perpetual waiting, wondering how much longer his own green mile will stretch, transforming his physical health into a profound spiritual exile.■