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Ren Wu
Professor Jimenez
English 101
5/Oct/14
Death Penalty
The movie, Dead man walking is a story that tells of the life experiences of Helen
Prejean, who is a well-renowned nun on the issue of capital punishment. The movie reveals the
life of a criminal and the actions that he does that get him to jail. Thereafter guilt follows suit on
the criminal to the point that he changes from an arrogant to a good and warm person. The
change attracts Prejean, who thought that the criminal would be arrogant. The nun takes upon
herself to get a criminal to confess. In addition, she organizes a pro bono for him. However much
the court cases failed, and Prejean gives Poncelet the support that he needs till the time he meets
his death. From the incidences, disappointment hits Prejean when she realizes that the justice
system in the United States of America allows the death of a criminal as a payment for the wrong
doings that he or she has committed.
Helen Prejean has been part of many campaigns against the death penalty of inmates for
so many years. One of the many campaigns is the Moratorium 2000, which she formed in the
year 1999. The campaign’s motto “Witness to Innocence” is a cry to the justice system leaders to
have prudent decisions in the matter of verdict against wrong doers. According to her
observations and experience while helping inmates in jails all over America, it has come to her
concern that many of the inmates are convicted for crimes that they have not committed. These
inmates face up to life imprisonment while they were not privy of the wrong doings that they
were being accused of. Worse, off, many of the convicted criminals go through death penalties
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hence die for no apparent reason. The Moratorium gained so much popularity during the early
2000’ to the point that it became a national education campaign.
Prejean also wrote on the same. Her book “The Death of innocents: An Eyewitness
Account of Wrongful Executions” was released in 2004. The book gives an account of the
happenings that Prejean witnessed in jails all over the United States. Prejean airs out her view on
the death penalty arguing that the action is inhumane, denying the victims their right to life.
What ekes her more is the wrongful denial of the victim’s principle rights for wrongdoings that
they may not have committed. The book gives an account on what befell Dobie Gillis and Joseph
O’Dell both who were inmates expecting death penalties. Prejean interaction with the two led her
to the realization that they were innocent as they confess to her. Her strides to set them free bore
no fruit. However, she stood by them as their spiritual guide. She painfully watched them being
