Sister Helen Prejean calls on Maryland to end death penalty

Published: 2007-10-01

BALTIMORE (CNS) -- Standing beneath a large crucifix in the sanctuary of a Baltimore church, Sister Helen Prejean, internationally acclaimed death penalty abolitionist, stretched out her arms and intently fixed her gaze on the hundreds of people who filled the pews. "The cross has become a symbol of the suffering caused by murderers and capital punishment in America," the Sister of St. Joseph of Medaille told the crowd at St. Pius X Church. "On the one arm of the cross are the murderer and the murderer's family. On the other ... are the victim and the victim's family," said Sister Helen, whose book inspired the movie "Dead Man Walking." Speaking with the nun at the church Sept. 20 were Chris Conover and Kirk Bloodsworth, whose death-row convictions were overturned when DNA testing exonerated them years after their murder conviction. Sister Helen has firsthand experience "entering into the mystery" of the cross, she said. She was the spiritual adviser to Patrick Sonnier in Louisiana. She accompanied the convicted murderer to his execution by electrocution, which she recounts in her book, and later accompanied five more men to their deaths. Sister Helen also founded Survive, a group that provides counseling and support for the grieving families of murder victims.

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