Sister Helen Prejean

Sister Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty. After witnessing the executions of Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, she realized that this lethal ritual would remain unchallenged unless its secrecy was stripped away. Her bestselling book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, ignited a national debate on capital punishment and inspired an Academy Award winning movie, a play, and an opera. Over the years, Sister Helen has written two additional books, and she continues her efforts to support incarcerated people, dividing her time between educating the public, campaigning against the death penalty, counseling individual death row prisoners, and working with murder victims’ family members.