Editing Helen Prejean

{{Short description|Death penalty abolition advocate}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific-prefix   = [[Religious sister (Catholic)|Sister]]
| name               = Helen Prejean
| honorific-suffix   = [[Sisters of St. Joseph#Congregation of Saint Joseph|CSJ]]
| image              = HelenPrejean.jpg
| image_size         = 
| caption            = Prejean in 2006
| birth_date         = {{birth date and age|1939|4|21}}
| birth_place        = [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], U.S.
| death_date         = 
| death_place        = 
| education          = [[St. Mary's Dominican College]]<br>[[Saint Paul University]]
| occupation         = [[Nun#Distinction between a nun and a religious sister|Sister]], spiritual adviser, author, anti-death penalty activist, teacher
| spouse             = 
| known_for          = 
}}

'''Helen Prejean''' {{post-nominals|post-noms=[[Sisters of St. Joseph#Congregation of Saint Joseph|CSJ]]}} ({{IPAc-en|p|r|eɪ|ˈ|ʒ|ɑː|n}} {{respell|pray|ZHAHN}};<ref>{{cite web |last1=Prejean |first1=Helen |title=How to pronounce 'Prejean' |url=https://vimeo.com/95438024 |website=Vimeo |access-date=23 August 2021 |date=May 15, 2014}}</ref> born April 21, 1939) is a [[Catholic Church|Catholic]] [[religious sister]] and a leading American advocate for the abolition of the [[Capital punishment in the United States|death penalty]].

She is known for her best-selling book, ''[[Dead Man Walking (book)|Dead Man Walking]]'' (1993), based on her experiences with two convicts on [[death row]] for whom she served as spiritual adviser before their executions. In her book, she explored the effects of the death penalty on everyone involved. The book was adapted as a 1995 [[Dead Man Walking (film)|film of the same name]], starring [[Susan Sarandon]] and [[Sean Penn]]. It was also adapted as an [[Dead Man Walking (opera)|opera]] by [[Jake Heggie]] and [[Terrence McNally]], first produced in 2000 by the [[San Francisco Opera]].

Prejean served as the National Chairperson of the [[National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty]] from 1993 to 1995. She helped establish The Moratorium Campaign, seeking an end to executions and conducting education on the death penalty. Prejean also founded the groups SURVIVE to help families of victims of murder and related crimes.

==Early life and education==
Helen Prejean was born in [[Baton Rouge, Louisiana]], the daughter of Augusta Mae ([[Given name|née]] Bourg; 1911–1993), a nurse, and Louis Sebastian Prejean (1893–1974), a lawyer.<ref name=bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.knowla.org/entry/1059/ |title=Sister Helen Prejean |access-date=May 27, 2015 |publisher=University of Louisiana |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531110158/http://www.knowla.org/entry/1059/ |archive-date=May 31, 2016 |df=mdy-all |url-status=dead }}</ref> She joined the [[Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille]] in 1957.

In 1962, she received a Bachelor of Arts in English and Education from [[St. Mary's Dominican College]], [[New Orleans]], Louisiana. In 1973, she earned a Master of Arts in [[religious education]] from [[Saint Paul University]], a [[Pontifical university]] federated with the [[University of Ottawa]]. She has been the Religious Education Director at [[St. Frances Cabrini Church (New Orleans)|St. Frances Cabrini Parish]] in New Orleans, the Formation Director for the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille, and has taught [[junior high school|junior]] and [[senior high school]].<ref name=MADP>{{cite web |url=http://www.sisterhelen.org/biography/ |title=Biography |publisher=Ministry Against the Death Penalty |access-date=June 18, 2013 }}</ref>

==Death row ministry==
Her efforts began in [[New Orleans]], Louisiana, in 1981. In 1982 an acquaintance asked her to correspond with convicted murderer [[Elmo Patrick Sonnier]], held on [[death row]] in the [[Louisiana State Penitentiary]], known as Angola.<ref name=Nolan1996>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1996-01-19-9601190139-story.html |title=Church Needs to Aid Killers as Well as Victims' Families, Nun Says |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 19, 1996 |page=Metro Chicago 8 |access-date=October 23, 2019 |last=Nolan |first=Bruce |quote=It was at St Thomas in 1982 that an acquaintance asked her to write to Elmo "Pat" Sonnier, a stranger on Death Row. }}</ref> Sonnier had been sentenced to [[electric chair|death by electrocution]]. She visited Sonnier in prison and agreed to be his spiritual adviser in the months leading up to his [[Execution (legal)|execution]]. The experience gave Prejean greater insight into the process involved in executions, for the convict, families, and others in the prison, and she began speaking out against capital punishment. At the same time, she founded ''Survive'', an organization devoted to counseling the families of victims of violence.

Prejean has since ministered to other inmates on [[death row]] and witnessed several more executions. She served as National Chairperson of the [[National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty]] from 1993 to 1995.
[[File:AngolaLAPrison.jpg|thumb|[[Louisiana State Penitentiary]], where Sonnier was incarcerated.]]

==''Dead Man Walking''==
She published ''[[Dead Man Walking (book)|Dead Man Walking]]'' (1993), an account of her relationship with Sonnier and other inmates on death row, and the factors related to her growing opposition to the death penalty. The book was adapted for a [[Dead Man Walking (film)|1995 feature film of the same name]]; she was portrayed by [[Susan Sarandon]].{{cn|date=December 2024}}

Her book also was adapted as [[Dead Man Walking (opera)|an opera]] of the same name, first produced by the [[San Francisco Opera]] in 2000. The libretto is by [[Terrence McNally]] and the music composed by [[Jake Heggie]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Faires |first=Robert |url=http://www.austinchronicle.com/arts/2002-12-06/109369/ |title=Arias From Death Row |work=[[The Austin Chronicle]] |date=6 December 2002 |df=mdy-all}}</ref>  It has also been adapted as [[Dead Man Walking (play)|a play]] of the same name, which was first produced in autumn 2003.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.catholicsmobilizing.org/playProject.cfm |title=Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project |website=Catholic Mobilizing Network |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911223137/http://catholicsmobilizing.org/playProject.cfm |archive-date=September 11, 2011 |url-status=dead |df=mdy-all}}</ref>

For her book, she drew from her experiences with Sonnier and with the convict [[Robert Lee Willie]]. He had been sentenced to death after being convicted of kidnapping and murder in two attacks in May 1980.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1984/12/29/us/louisiana-killer-is-put-to-death.html |title=Louisiana Killer Is Put to Death |newspaper=The New York Times |date=December 28, 1984 |url-access=subscription |access-date=September 5, 2019 }}</ref> Prejean also explored the effects that conducting the death penalty has on attorneys, prison guards, other prison officials, and the families of both convicted murderers and their victims. Since then Prejean has worked with other men sentenced to death.

In December 2010, Prejean donated all of her archival papers to [[DePaul University]].<ref name=DeGraff>{{cite web |last=DeGraff |first=Kathryn |date=February 7, 2011 |url=http://library.depaul.edu/about/library-news/library-news-for-faculty/Pages/DePaul-Archives-Acquire-Prejean-Death-Penalty-Papers--Dead-Man-Walking-Manuscript.aspx |title=DePaul Archives Acquire Prejean Death Penalty Papers & Dead Man Walking Manuscript |publisher=DePaul University Library |access-date=May 15, 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518083838/http://library.depaul.edu/about/library-news/library-news-for-faculty/Pages/DePaul-Archives-Acquire-Prejean-Death-Penalty-Papers--Dead-Man-Walking-Manuscript.aspx |archive-date=May 18, 2015 }}</ref>
<ref name=Brachear2011>{{cite news |title = DePaul gets papers of 'Dead Man Walking' nun |date=February 10, 2011 |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-2011-02-09-ct-talk-prejean-death-penalty-papers-20110209-story.html |last=Brachear |first=Manya A. |access-date=October 23, 2019 }}</ref>

==Campaigns, book, and awards==
In 1996, she was awarded the [[Laetare Medal]] by the [[University of Notre Dame]], the oldest and most prestigious award for [[American Catholics]].<ref>{{cite web |publisher= University of Notre Dame |title=Recipients {{!}} The Laetare Medal |url=https://laetare.nd.edu/recipients/#info1996 |access-date=2 August 2020 |language=en}}</ref>

In 1999, Prejean formed Moratorium 2000, a petition drive that eventually grew into a national education campaign, The Moratorium Campaign,<ref name=moratorium>{{cite web |url=http://www.moratoriumcampaign.org/ |title=The Moratorium Campaign |access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> seeking to declare a moratorium to executions. It was initially staffed by Robert Jones, Theresa Meisz, and Jené O'Keefe. The organization [[Witness to Innocence]],<ref name=witness>{{cite web |url=http://www.witnesstoinnocence.org |title=Witness to Innocence |publisher=Witness to Innocence |access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref> composed of death row survivors who were exonerated after being convicted for crimes they did not commit, was started under The Moratorium Campaign.

Prejean wrote a second book, ''The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions'' (2004). She tells of two men, [[Dobie Gillis Williams]] and Joseph O'Dell, whom she accompanied to their executions. She believes that both men were innocent of the crimes for which they were convicted. The book also examines the recent history of death penalty decisions by the [[Supreme Court of the United States]] and the [[George W. Bush as Governor of Texas|record]] of [[George W. Bush]] as [[Governor of Texas]].

In 1998, Prejean was given the [[Pacem in Terris Award|''Pacem in Terris'' Award]], named after a 1963 [[encyclical]] letter by [[Pope John XXIII]] that calls on all people of good will to secure peace among all nations. ''[[Pacem in terris]]'' is [[Latin]] for "Peace on Earth."

Prejean now bases her work at the Ministry Against the Death Penalty in New Orleans. She gives talks about the issues across the United States and around the world. She and her sister Mary Ann Antrobus have also been deeply involved at a center in [[Nicaragua]] called Friends of Batahola.<ref name=Batahola>{{cite web |url=http://ias.umn.edu/2011/06/01/antrobus-prejean/ |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130213031518/http://ias.umn.edu/2011/06/01/antrobus-prejean/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=February 13, 2013 |title=Sister Helen Prejean (CSJ) and Mary Ann Antrobus, June 2011 |publisher= University of Minnesota |first=Aaron |last=Victorin-Vangerud |date=June 1, 2011 |access-date=December 22, 2015 }}</ref>

In 2019 she wrote a memoir titled ''River of Fire: My Spiritual Journey''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/133675/river-of-fire-by-sister-helen-prejean/9781400067305|title=River of Fire by Helen Prejean: 9781400067305 {{!}} PenguinRandomHouse.com: Books|website=PenguinRandomhouse.com|language=en-US|access-date=2019-09-26}}</ref> In it she talks about her spiritual journey leading her to engage in [[social justice]] work.

==Awards and recognition==
{{main|List of commencement addresses given by Helen Prejean}}
Prejean has given commencement addresses to more than [[List of commencement addresses given by Helen Prejean|50 colleges and universities]] around the world.<ref name=commencement>{{cite web |url=http://libguides.depaul.edu/ld.php?content_id=10135845 |title=FINDING AID FOR Sr. Helen Prejean Papers |series= Series 005.001: University and College Commencements |publisher=DePaul University Special Collections and Archives }}</ref>

*2019: Blessed are the Peacemakers Award from [[Catholic Theological Union]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Blessed are the Peacemakers | date = December 6, 2022 |publisher=Catholic Theological Union |url=https://ctu.edu/peacemakers2023/ |access-date=December 7, 2022 }}</ref>
*2016: Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award from the [[Catholic Common Ground Initiative]], housed at [[Catholic Theological Union]]<ref>{{cite web |title=2016 Cardinal Joseph Bernardin Award | date = June 29, 2016 |publisher=Catholic Theological Union |url=https://catholiccommonground.org/2016-cardinal-joseph-bernardin-award/ |access-date=December 7, 2022 }}</ref>
*2013: Robert M. Holstein "Faith Doing Justice" Award from the [http://ignatiansolidarity.net/blog/2013/05/10/helen-prejean-award/ Ignatian Solidarity Network]
*2006: [[Christopher Award]]
*2002: [[NUI Galway]] Honorary Doctorate (LLD)
*1998: World [[Pacem in Terris Award]]
*1996: [[Pax Christi USA Pope Paul VI Teacher of Peace Award]]
*1996: [[Laetare Medal]]

==See also==
* [[Ivan Cantu]], a man from Dallas, Texas, convicted in 2011 of the double murder of his cousin and his cousin's girlfriend

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Official website|https://sisterhelen.org/}}
*{{IMDb name|0695878}}
*{{C-SPAN|33398}}
* ''Angel on Death Row:'' Newspaper accounts of the crimes and executions of Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, [[Public Broadcasting Service]] [https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/angel/articles/tindex.html]
* "Sister Helen Prejean: The Real Woman Behind ''Dead Man Walking''", by John Bookser Feister, ''St. Anthony Messenger'', April, 1996 [http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Apr1996/feature1.asp]
* "Would Jesus pull the Switch?" by Sister Helen Prejean, C.S.J., ''Salt of the Earth'' 1997 [http://salt.claretianpubs.org/issues/deathp/prejean.html]
* "Conversation with Sr. Helen Prejean" by Marilyn Rodrigues, ''The Catholic Weekly'' August 17, 2003 [https://web.archive.org/web/20060519142339/http://www.catholicweekly.com.au/03/aug/17/14.html]
* ''The National Review'' and Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J., August 1, 2006 [http://gaelicstarover.blogspot.com/2006/08/activist-trap-of-discriminating-tastes.html]
* "Blood on our Hands: An Interview with Helen Prejean", by Shannon Presler, ''The Other Journal.com'' January 19, 2009 [http://theotherjournal.com/?s=helen+prejean]
* ''Walk the Talk Show'' with Waylon Lewis: "Sister Helen Prejean of ''Dead Man Walking'' Fame," May 2009 [http://www.elephantjournal.com/2009/05/sister-helen-prejean-of-dead-man-walking-fame-a-walk-the-talk-show-with-waylon-lewis-on-location-special-at-naropa-university/]
* "The Death Penalty Nun," 2006 video biography [https://www.trinitywallstreet.org/video/death-penalty-nun], Trinity Wall Street
* "Late Night Live - Dead Man Walking (1993 Australian radio broadcast) [http://www.abc.net.au/radionational/programs/latenightlive/late-night-live-summer---dead-man-walking/3678386]

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Prejean, Helen}}
[[Category:1939 births]]
[[Category:20th-century American Roman Catholic nuns]]
[[Category:20th-century American women writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American Roman Catholic nuns]]
[[Category:21st-century American non-fiction writers]]
[[Category:21st-century American women writers]]
[[Category:American anti–death penalty activists]]
[[Category:American prison reformers]]
[[Category:Catholics from Louisiana]]
[[Category:DePaul University Special Collections and Archives holdings]]
[[Category:Laetare Medal recipients]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:People from Baton Rouge, Louisiana]]
[[Category:Roman Catholic activists]]
[[Category:Saint Paul University alumni]]
[[Category:Sisters of Saint Joseph]]
[[Category:University of Ottawa alumni]]