Present About Books Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

Title	:	Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate
Author	:	Helen Prejean
Book Format	:	Paperback
Book Edition	:	First Edition
Pages	:	Pages: 288 pages
Published	:	May 31st 1994 by Vintage (first published 1993)
Categories	:	Nonfiction. Crime. True Crime. Autobiography. Memoir. Biography

Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate Paperback | Pages: 288 pages

Interpretation To Books Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

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.

Point Books As Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

Original Title:	Dead Man Walking
ISBN:	0679751319 (ISBN13: 9780679751311)
Edition Language:	English

Rating About Books Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

Ratings: 4.1 From 6753 Users | 516 Reviews

Write Up About Books Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate

This is an incredible read. It's upsetting and emotionally gutting, but everyone should know these experiences. Sister Helen's message is just as relevant now as ever.

I saw about half the movie about two weeks ago, and it peaked my interest to know the whole story. I suppose some people would think Sister Helen a soft hearted woman and think her response to this man typical of a nun, but to me one of the best parts about this account is her wrestling with all the issues the death sentence brings up. The poor are more likely to be given the death penalty, the wierd laws surronding appeals, the political reality of the South, free defense attorneys who literaly

Very affecting

...if we believe that murder is wrong and not admissible in our society, then it has to be wrong for everyone, not just individuals but governments as well. This is the crux of Sister Helen Prejean's argument against capital punishment. She also asserts that the death penalty is not a deterrent to violent crime, costs taxpayers substantially more than life in prison in the long run,and is not fairly meted out on the merits of a case, but instead influenced heavily by race, poverty, and

Sister Prejean is speaking on our campus on April 9th. I'm very much looking forward to speaking with her, and I'll be assigning this book (as well as attendance at her lecture) to my undergrad students. There may only be one or two books you read in college that really make an impact on the person you become. This might be one of them.

The author has devoted her life to being a spiritual advisor to people on death row. I have also read two books by her that deal with men on death row that have been unjustly accused. Her books will make you re-think the death penalty. This book has been made into a movie, which I have not seen, but will look for it.

Sister Helen's perspective on the death penalty is vital to the growing debate about the effectiveness, purpose, efficacy and impacts of capital punishment. Her story of coming to know several death row inmates, and then being there to see them executed, makes an incredibly compelling read.