Lectures

ECTURE ON MARCH 27th : DEAD MAN WALKING: THE JOURNEY CONTINUES

The fifth in this year’s lecture series, Listening to other Voices: Compassion – Who Cares?” will take place on the Thursday after Easter, March 27 th at 7:15 p.m. Our speaker that evening will be Sister Helen Prejean, a Sister of Saint Joseph from Louisiana . Sister Helen is known internationally for her tireless work against the death penalty. She was instrumental in sparking national dialogue on the issue and in shaping the Catholic Church’s newly vigorous opposition to all state executions. Before taking on this ministry, Sister Helen had worked with poor people in a housing project in New Orleans . In 1982 she began to visit Patrick Sonnier in Louisiana ’s Angola Prison and finally walked him to the electric chair. After she did this with other prisoners, she founded Survive, which provides counseling and support for grieving families of murder victims. Then she wrote of her experiences in Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States, published in 1993. The book spawned an oscar-winning movie starring Susan Sarandon.

Today Sister Helen lives in New Orleans and works with the Death Penalty Discourse Center, the Moratorium Campaign and the Dead Man Walking Play Project. She is presently at work on another book, “River of Fire - My Spiritual Journey to Death Row”. The topic of her lecture on March 27 th will be “Dead Man Walking: The Journey Continues”. Admission is free but free will offerings welcomed. Her books will be available and she will be happy to sign them. Refreshments are served after the talk discussion.

Schedules may change on occasion as circumstances dictate