No person has worked more effectively toward the abolition of the death penalty in the United States than Helen Prejean, CSJ. Her best-selling book Dead Man Walking, and the hit Hollywood film adaptation in which she was played by Susan Sarandon, was a catalyst for drawing national attention to the issue. In the years since then, her continuing and often controversial work with death-row inmates has kept the issue near the forefront of national debate. She has confronted lawyers and judges, politicians and the media, to expose the indignity and injustice of the death penalty and inhumane prison conditions.
In Helen Prejean: Death Row’s Nun, Joyce Duriga explores Sister Helen’s life growing up in upper-middle-class Louisiana, her growing awareness of the injustice of the death penalty, and its disproportionate targeting of the poor and minorities, and her introduction to death-row inmates Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. Through this book, readers will witness her life’s work with victims and their families, and see how she came to understand her role in prison ministry, not only as an activist but as a champion fighting for hope and restorative justice for those facing the death penalty.
Tabella dei contenuti
Contents
Foreword by Robert Ellsberg ix
Chapter One
The Moment That Changed Her Life 1
Chapter Two
Her Early Years 5
Chapter Three
Patrick Sonnier 23
Chapter Four
Dead Man Walking 37
Chapter Five
The Death of Innocents 54
Chapter Six
The Church and the Death Penalty 69
Chapter Seven
Her Thoughts on the Death Penalty 84
Notes 91
Bibliography 97
Index 99
Circa l’autore
Robert Ellsberg is the publisher and editor-in-chief of Orbis Books and the author of several award-winning books, including All Saints: Daily Reflections on Saints, Prophets, and Witnesses for Our Time; Blessed Among All Women; and The Saints’ Guide to Happiness.
Altri ebook dello stesso autore / Editore
50.169 Ebook in questa categoria
