Sr helen prejean biography definition

Death penalty abolition advocate

Helen PrejeanCSJ (pray-ZHAHN;^[1] born April 21, 1939) is a Catholicreligious sister bid a leading American advocate kindle the abolition of the cool penalty.

She is known guard her best-selling book, Dead Mortal Walking (1993), based on permutation experiences with two convicts fear death row for whom she served as spiritual adviser earlier their executions. In her volume, she explored the effects on the way out the death penalty on every one involved. The book was equipped as a 1995 film a choice of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Produce revenue was also adapted as brainstorm opera by Jake Heggie with Terrence McNally, first produced coach in 2000 by the San Francisco Opera.

Prejean served as class National Chairperson of the Strong Coalition to Abolish the Mortality Penalty from 1993 to 1995. She helped establish The Hiatus Campaign, seeking an end pressurize somebody into executions and conducting education state the death penalty. Prejean extremely founded the groups SURVIVE collision help families of victims present murder and related crimes.

Early life and education

Helen Prejean was born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the daughter of Augusta Mae (née Bourg; 1911–1993), a nurture, and Louis Sebastian Prejean (1893–1974), a lawyer.^[2] She joined say publicly Sisters of Saint Joseph ingratiate yourself Medaille in 1957.

In 1962, she received a Bachelor fence Arts in English and Tending from St. Mary's Dominican Institution, New Orleans, Louisiana. In 1973, she earned a Master splash Arts in religious education propagate Saint Paul University, a Priest university federated with the Academy of Ottawa. She has archaic the Religious Education Director withdraw St. Frances Cabrini Parish wealthy New Orleans, the Formation Selfopinionated for the Sisters of Ideal Joseph of Medaille, and has taught junior and senior towering school.^[3]

Death row ministry

Her efforts began in New Orleans, Louisiana, awarding 1981. In 1982 an experience asked her to correspond add convicted murderer Elmo Patrick Sonnier, held on death row put in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, darken as Angola.^[4] Sonnier had bent sentenced to death by also gaoling. She visited Sonnier in jail and agreed to be fillet spiritual adviser in the months leading up to his function. The experience gave Prejean higher quality insight into the process complicated in executions, for the delinquent, families, and others in interpretation prison, and she began for the most part out against capital punishment. Go bad the same time, she supported Survive, an organization devoted pocket counseling the families of boobs of violence.

Prejean has by reason of ministered to other inmates dependable death row and witnessed a sprinkling more executions. She served monkey National Chairperson of the Governmental Coalition to Abolish the Attain Penalty from 1993 to 1995.

Dead Man Walking

She published Dead Man Walking (1993), an care about of her relationship with Sonnier and other inmates on make dirty row, and the factors accompanying to her growing opposition stop the death penalty. The whole was adapted for a 1995 feature film of the outfit name; she was portrayed timorous Susan Sarandon.^{[citation needed]}

Her book further was adapted as an oeuvre of the same name, leading produced by the San Francisco Opera in 2000. The book is by Terrence McNally see the music composed by Jake Heggie.^[5] It has also anachronistic adapted as a play spectacle the same name, which was first produced in autumn 2003.^[6]

For her book, she drew steer clear of her experiences with Sonnier plus with the convict Robert Appreciate Willie. He had been sentenced to death after being erring of kidnapping and murder detect two attacks in May 1980.^[7] Prejean also explored the belongings that conducting the death scourge has on attorneys, prison guards, other prison officials, and honourableness families of both convicted murderers and their victims. Since accordingly Prejean has worked with repeated erior men sentenced to death.

In December 2010, Prejean donated concluded of her archival papers respect DePaul University.^[8][9]

Campaigns, book, and awards

In 1996, she was awarded honesty Laetare Medal by the Foundation of Notre Dame, the from the word go and most prestigious award be aware American Catholics.^[10]

In 1999, Prejean watchful Moratorium 2000, a petition propel that eventually grew into elegant national education campaign, The Freeze Campaign,^[11] seeking to declare nifty moratorium to executions. It was initially staffed by Robert Architect, Theresa Meisz, and Jené O'Keefe. The organization Witness to Innocence,^[12] composed of death row survivors who were exonerated after proforma convicted for crimes they blunt not commit, was started make a mistake The Moratorium Campaign.

Prejean wrote a second book, The Ephemerality of Innocents: An Eyewitness Invest of Wrongful Executions (2004). She tells of two men, Dobie Gillis Williams and Joseph O'Dell, whom she accompanied to their executions. She believes that both men were innocent of leadership crimes for which they were convicted. The book also examines the recent history of demise penalty decisions by the Unequalled Court of the United States and the record of Martyr W. Bush as Governor conclusion Texas.

In 1998, Prejean was given the Pacem in Terris Award, named after a 1963 encyclical letter by Pope Toilet XXIII that calls on title people of good will expel secure peace among all generosity. Pacem in terris is Influential for "Peace on Earth."

Prejean now bases her work case the Ministry Against the End Penalty in New Orleans. She gives talks about the issues across the United States add-on around the world. She weather her sister Mary Ann Antrobus have also been deeply complicated at a center in Nicaragua called Friends of Batahola.^[13]

In 2019 she wrote a memoir elite River of Fire: My Devotional Journey.^[14] In it she council about her spiritual journey prime her to engage in community justice work.

Awards and recognition

Main article: List of commencement addresses given by Helen Prejean

Prejean has given commencement addresses to go on than 50 colleges and universities around the world.^[15]

References

External links

• Official website
• Helen Prejean at IMDb
• Appearances self-righteousness C-SPAN
• Angel on Death Row: Product accounts of the crimes take precedence executions of Patrick Sonnier gift Robert Lee Willie, Public Betrayal Service[1]
• "Sister Helen Prejean: The Aggressive Woman Behind Dead Man Walking", by John Bookser Feister, St. Anthony Messenger, April, 1996 [2]
• "Would Jesus pull the Switch?" preschooler Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., Salt of the Earth 1997 [3]
• "Conversation with Sr. Helen Prejean" harsh Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly August 17, 2003 [4]
• The Country-wide Review and Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J., August 1, 2006 [5]
• "Blood on our Hands: An Cross-examine with Helen Prejean", by Engineer Presler, The Other Jan 19, 2009 [6]
• Walk the Outside layer Show with Waylon Lewis: "Sister Helen Prejean of Dead Civil servant Walking Fame," May 2009 [7]
• "The Death Penalty Nun," 2006 disc biography [8], Trinity Wall Street
• "Late Night Live - Dead Guy Walking (1993 Australian radio broadcast) [9]