8. Warden Samuel Norton – The Shawshank Redemption
The Shawshank Redemption features multiple truly awful human beings, but none stand out in quite the same way as Warden Samuel Norton. When Andy Dufresne is sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit, he reluctantly adjusts to prison life. Part of that life, he learns, is supporting Norton’s exploitation of prison labor by helping him launder money.
When an inmate arrives at Shawshank with evidence that Andy might be innocent, Norton flies into a rage. He condemns Andy to a month of solitary confinement, then murders the (mostly) innocent young man with the power to free his financial advisor. After telling Andy that he must continue hiding his ill-gotten cash, Norton then gives Andy another month of solitary. Just for good measure, apparently. As soon as he returns to his cell, Andy exacts his daring escape. Then he steals Norton’s money and sends evidence of his crimes to the press. With the law closing in on him, Norton shoots himself to avoid paying for his crimes.
The triumph of Andy and Norton’s cowardly actions ultimately make The Shawshank Redemption‘s conclusion one of the best movie endings of all time, if a little bittersweet. Still, none of that would have happened had Norton just reacted in a normal way. Or better yet, had he not abused his power in the first place. Either way, he took his schemes way too far, and ended up paying the price.