Status
Available
Call number
Collection
Publication
Vintage (1994), Edition: 1st Vintage Books ed, 304 pages
Description
In 1982, Sister Helen Prejean became the spiritual advisor to Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers who was sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana's Angola State Prison. In the months before Sonnier's death, the Roman Catholic nun came to know a man who was as terrified as he had once been terrifying. She also came to know the families of the victims and the men whose job it was to execute--men who often harbored doubts about the rightness of what they were doing. Out of that dreadful intimacy comes a profoundly moving spiritual journey through our system of capital punishment. Here Sister Helen confronts both the plight of the condemned and the rage of the bereaved, the fears of a society shattered by violence and the Christian imperative of love. On its original publication in 1993, Dead Man Walking emerged as an unprecedented look at the human consequences of the death penalty. Now, some two decades later, this story--which has inspired a film, a stage play, an opera and a musical album--is more gut-wrenching than ever, stirring deep and life-changing reflection in all who encounter it. Read by the author, Helen Prejean Preface written by Archbishop Desmond Tutu and read by Dominic Hoffman Afterwords written and read by Susan Sarandon and Tim Robbins… (more)
User reviews
LibraryThing member wenzowsa
I don’t really know how to describe my experience reading Dead Man Walking.
Draining? Sort of.
Stunning? Yes.
Informative? Certainly.
This book explains Sister Helen Prejean’s, a Catholic Nun, experiences with two different death row inmates in Louisiana. What begins as a simple pen pal exchange
I suppose Dead Man Walking managed to shock and horrify me. I read poverty and violence statistics that I had never seen before, and I was ashamed that a country like the United States could be that unjust. People need to know about this structural violence, and they need to take action. As Prejean proves, even small actions can create huge crescents of change.
While heavy on information, this book is a quick read. I suggest that anyone with interest in social activism, Christianity, or criminal justice take the time to check this out.
Draining? Sort of.
Stunning? Yes.
Informative? Certainly.
This book explains Sister Helen Prejean’s, a Catholic Nun, experiences with two different death row inmates in Louisiana. What begins as a simple pen pal exchange
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with one (Patrick Sonnier), turns into a life-altering experience for Prejean. Prejean, quite simply, learns not only about crime, but also the role that society has played in creating crime. She sees these prisoners not as violent offenders but as the people that they are. She grows to understand that the death penalty is not the best way to retaliate against their crimes, and that often justice in the name of religion isn’t justice at all. I suppose Dead Man Walking managed to shock and horrify me. I read poverty and violence statistics that I had never seen before, and I was ashamed that a country like the United States could be that unjust. People need to know about this structural violence, and they need to take action. As Prejean proves, even small actions can create huge crescents of change.
While heavy on information, this book is a quick read. I suggest that anyone with interest in social activism, Christianity, or criminal justice take the time to check this out.
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LibraryThing member KendraRenee
A worthwhile read about a nun (the author)'s friendship with two different death-row inmates, and about their last, short months leading up to their executions. It's a close-up look at something few Americans have an informed opinion on, though most DO have an opinion on it, nevertheless: capital
The two inmates Sister Helen befriends represent two opposite ends of the spectrum, in the way they approach their looming executions. Patrick Sonnier is scared shitless and does not want to go, while Robert Lee Willie lives incredibly detached and in the moment. He even winks at Sister Helen before they pull the mask over his face. She does a good job of telling their stories, of making them live on in the pages of this book. When they are killed, sympathetic readers WILL feel a twinge or more of sadness that they are gone. I mean, it's so bizarre. Death, in general, gives one that feeling: it's an unfathomable mystery, and here the government is, using it as a penalty for crime. I agree with the author: it's so *wrong*.
But I'm also glad Sister Helen pulls the victims' families' stories into this, and becomes *their* advocate by the end, too. She uniquely and successfully straddles a difficult divide: championing the cause of both victim and offender. I admire how she actively debates the issue of capital punishment with opponents, and manages to hear the other person out even while making herself heard. It's not just in one ear out the other, with her. She listens AND she walks the talk. In fact, she's so good at articulating what she believes and then acting, promptly and decisively, on it, that I wouldn't be surprised if she became a saint one day.
On the same token, the religious spin is the only part I wish I could take out, because I don't think it's central to these two inmates' life stories. However, it IS central to the author's identity, and so a few rabbit trails about the love of Jesus are somewhat inevitable. Hers is at least one brand of religion I wish were more common, as opposed to others.
All in all, a highly recommendable read.
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punishment. Many support it, but few want to admit that the people GIVEN the death penalty are, indeed, people. We want to think that they're MONSTERS, that they DESERVE this, that they're evil and the only way to deal with them is to wipe them out. Obviously, Sister Helen's agenda is to convince her readers how primeval of an idea this is. I already agreed with her before I started the book, but she pounds it into you by the end: a pre-determined date with death is terrifying at worst, and, at best, mind-bogglingly ridiculous. Not to mention that its application in the courts is definitively "random and capricious". I didn't know this when I first researched the topic as a teenager, but I found out pretty quick. I started the project as an advocate for capital punishment, and wasn't even halfway through my research before I changed my mind. It doesn't take much--just the effort to educate oneself.The two inmates Sister Helen befriends represent two opposite ends of the spectrum, in the way they approach their looming executions. Patrick Sonnier is scared shitless and does not want to go, while Robert Lee Willie lives incredibly detached and in the moment. He even winks at Sister Helen before they pull the mask over his face. She does a good job of telling their stories, of making them live on in the pages of this book. When they are killed, sympathetic readers WILL feel a twinge or more of sadness that they are gone. I mean, it's so bizarre. Death, in general, gives one that feeling: it's an unfathomable mystery, and here the government is, using it as a penalty for crime. I agree with the author: it's so *wrong*.
But I'm also glad Sister Helen pulls the victims' families' stories into this, and becomes *their* advocate by the end, too. She uniquely and successfully straddles a difficult divide: championing the cause of both victim and offender. I admire how she actively debates the issue of capital punishment with opponents, and manages to hear the other person out even while making herself heard. It's not just in one ear out the other, with her. She listens AND she walks the talk. In fact, she's so good at articulating what she believes and then acting, promptly and decisively, on it, that I wouldn't be surprised if she became a saint one day.
On the same token, the religious spin is the only part I wish I could take out, because I don't think it's central to these two inmates' life stories. However, it IS central to the author's identity, and so a few rabbit trails about the love of Jesus are somewhat inevitable. Hers is at least one brand of religion I wish were more common, as opposed to others.
All in all, a highly recommendable read.
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LibraryThing member flemmily
An amazing book by an amazing lady. A moving and inspirational look at compassion and humanity. Additionally, so hideously depressing that my own problems seem like little piddly things in comparison; this book was very useful in becoming un-depressed.
LibraryThing member jjaylynny
A moving and heartfelt account of Helen Prejean's journey into trying to abolish the death penalty, as well as her work for victims' rights. A tough issue, but she has conviction of character. I will not think about capital punishment the same way again.
LibraryThing member CarrieWuj
I missed this back in the 90s when it was a blockbuster film, but read it recently to prepare to see the opera version. I'm glad I'm in the loop now. Sr. Helen's personal account of spiritually advising men on death row in Louisiana was eye-opening and inspirational. For those who espouse the
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pro-life movement, this book challenges the dignity and worth of every life. It also exposes flaws in the judicial and prison system where death row inmates are disproportionately poor and of color. What I liked best though was how personal Prejean made this and how willing she was to enter into the darkest moments of another's life and try to lead them to light, not conversion per se, but to understanding and to right relationships. I know she has faced criticism for her role in this issue, but she is a much-needed voice of personal experience and humanity. What is most admirable was how she "fell" into this calling and didn't turn away from it, ultimately changing her life's course and focus. Her strength, faith and love are amazing. Show Less
Awards
Eliot Rosewater Indiana High School Book Award (Nominee — 1997)
Notable Books List (1994)
Original publication date
1993