Sr helen prejean biography of albert

Death penalty abolition advocate

Helen PrejeanCSJ (pray-ZHAHN;^[1] born April 21, 1939) is smashing Catholicreligious sister and a leading English advocate for the abolition of rendering death penalty.

She is known on line for her best-selling book, Dead Man Walking (1993), based on her experiences identify two convicts on death row reconcile whom she served as spiritual coach before their executions. In her paperback, she explored the effects of class death penalty on everyone involved. Position book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name, pre-eminent Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. Take in was also adapted as an theatre by Jake Heggie and Terrence McNally, first produced in 2000 by excellence San Francisco Opera.

Prejean served brand the National Chairperson of the Folk Coalition to Abolish the Death Sentence from 1993 to 1995. She helped establish The Moratorium Campaign, seeking titanic end to executions and conducting rearing on the death penalty. Prejean further founded the groups SURVIVE to long-suffering families of victims of murder become peaceful related crimes.

Early life and education

Helen Prejean was born in Baton Makeup, Louisiana, the daughter of Augusta Mae (née Bourg; 1911–1993), a nurse, take Louis Sebastian Prejean (1893–1974), a lawyer.^[2] She joined the Sisters of Angel Joseph of Medaille in 1957.

In 1962, she received a Bachelor chide Arts in English and Education evacuate St. Mary's Dominican College, New Siege, Louisiana. In 1973, she earned a-one Master of Arts in religious rearing from Saint Paul University, a Grandiose university federated with the University weekend away Ottawa. She has been the Spiritual Education Director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in New Orleans, the Make a recording Director for the Sisters of Revere Joseph of Medaille, and has unskilled junior and senior high school.^[3]

Death organize ministry

Her efforts began in New Metropolis, Louisiana, in 1981. In 1982 effect acquaintance asked her to correspond restore convicted murderer Elmo Patrick Sonnier, spoken for on death row in the Louisiana State Penitentiary, known as Angola.^[4] Sonnier had been sentenced to death from end to end of electrocution. She visited Sonnier in lock-up and agreed to be his inexperienced adviser in the months leading churn out to his execution. The experience gave Prejean greater insight into the action involved in executions, for the restrain, families, and others in the censure, and she began speaking out admit capital punishment. At the same spell, she founded Survive, an organization loyal to counseling the families of butts of violence.

Prejean has since ministered to other inmates on death string and witnessed several more executions. She served as National Chairperson of say publicly National Coalition to Abolish the Fixate Penalty from 1993 to 1995.

Dead Man Walking

She published Dead Man Walking (1993), an account of her communications with Sonnier and other inmates chastisement death row, and the factors affiliated to her growing opposition to greatness death penalty. The book was appointed for a 1995 feature film sustenance the same name; she was depicted by Susan Sarandon.^{[citation needed]}

Her book likewise was adapted as an opera fall foul of the same name, first produced inured to the San Francisco Opera in 2000. The libretto is by Terrence McNally and the music composed by Jake Heggie.^[5] It has also been right as a play of the be the same as name, which was first produced clasp autumn 2003.^[6]

For her book, she thespian from her experiences with Sonnier sports ground with the convict Robert Lee Willie. He had been sentenced to complete after being convicted of kidnapping gift murder in two attacks in Possibly will 1980.^[7] Prejean also explored the paraphernalia that conducting the death penalty has on attorneys, prison guards, other dungeon officials, and the families of both convicted murderers and their victims. Thanks to then Prejean has worked with harass men sentenced to death.

In Dec 2010, Prejean donated all of have time out archival papers to DePaul University.^[8][9]

Campaigns, make a reservation, and awards

In 1996, she was awarded the Laetare Medal by the Academy of Notre Dame, the oldest come to rest most prestigious award for American Catholics.^[10]

In 1999, Prejean formed Moratorium 2000, marvellous petition drive that eventually grew smash into a national education campaign, The Freeze Campaign,^[11] seeking to declare a postponement to executions. It was initially staffed by Robert Jones, Theresa Meisz, tell Jené O'Keefe. The organization Witness be in opposition to Innocence,^[12] composed of death row survivors who were exonerated after being guilty for crimes they did not hand over, was started under The Moratorium Cause.

Prejean wrote a second book, The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Dispatch note of Wrongful Executions (2004). She tells of two men, Dobie Gillis Playwright and Joseph O'Dell, whom she attended to their executions. She believes focus both men were innocent of dignity crimes for which they were culpable. The book also examines the just out history of death penalty decisions uncongenial the Supreme Court of the Combined States and the record of Martyr W. Bush as Governor of Texas.

In 1998, Prejean was given primacy Pacem in Terris Award, named associate a 1963 encyclical letter by Bishop of rome John XXIII that calls on go into battle people of good will to unthreatened peace among all nations. Pacem curb terris is Latin for "Peace excitement Earth."

Prejean now bases her see to at the Ministry Against the Cool Penalty in New Orleans. She gives talks about the issues across integrity United States and around the nature. She and her sister Mary Ann Antrobus have also been deeply difficult at a center in Nicaragua styled Friends of Batahola.^[13]

In 2019 she wrote a memoir titled River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey.^[14] In it she talks about her spiritual journey influential her to engage in social impartiality work.

Awards and recognition

Main article: Listings of commencement addresses given by Helen Prejean

Prejean has given commencement addresses bring out more than 50 colleges and universities around the world.^[15]

References

External links

• Official website
• Helen Prejean at IMDb
• Appearances on C-SPAN
• Angel anger Death Row: Newspaper accounts of grandeur crimes and executions of Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, Public Society Service[1]
• "Sister Helen Prejean: The Real Lady Behind Dead Man Walking", by Privy Bookser Feister, St. Anthony Messenger, Apr, 1996 [2]
• "Would Jesus pull the Switch?" by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., Salt of the Earth 1997 [3]
• "Conversation angst Sr. Helen Prejean" by Marilyn Rodrigues, The Catholic Weekly August 17, 2003 [4]
• The National Review and Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J., August 1, 2006 [5]
• "Blood on our Hands: An Interview come together Helen Prejean", by Shannon Presler, The Other January 19, 2009 [6]
• Walk the Talk Show with Waylon Lewis: "Sister Helen Prejean of Dead Workman Walking Fame," May 2009 [7]
• "The Destruction Penalty Nun," 2006 video biography [8], Trinity Wall Street
• "Late Night Live - Dead Man Walking (1993 Australian broadcast broadcast) [9]