Corrections Corner / Deacon Marc Kellams
Sister Helen Prejean to speak at Corrections Ministry Conference
She was born in Baton Rouge, La., on April 21, 1939, and joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957. She became a high school teacher and served as the religious education director at St. Francis Cabrini Parish in New Orleans. She also served as the formation director for her community.
Such was the life of St. Joseph Sister Helen Prejean, teaching the young and forming her community, that is until 1982 when she moved into the St. Thomas Housing Project in New Orleans to serve the poor.
While there, she was asked to correspond with a death-row inmate, Patrick Sonnier. She didn’t know then that this simple gesture would change the course of her life, and ultimately change the way the world and the Church considers the death penalty.
Sonnier had been convicted of the murder of two teenagers. Few had any pity for him or his situation. But as her relationship with him grew, she was able to form a human bond that comforted him in his final days. Two years later, Sister Helen was there as his friend and as a spiritual witness to his execution. It was a profound experience.
Witnessing this lethal event and others led Sister Helen to expose the death penalty for what she believes it is: an act of revenge by the government. When her mission started, there was 90 percent support among the American people for the death penalty.
She faced an uphill battle, but all that changed with the publication of her book, Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate, which was ultimately made into an Academy Award winning movie and opera sparking a national debate on capital punishment.
Victims of horrendous crimes demand justice, as well they have the right to expect. The question that Sister Helen has provoked much debate about is whether the death penalty serves that purpose, or whether life in prison serves the same purpose in a more humane and civilized way.
Since 1973, there have been 156 individuals who have been exonerated from a sentence of death. Nearly one in 10 people sentenced to die since the death penalty was reinstated have been set free, their innocence largely proven by DNA evidence.
Statistics show that the death penalty has also been unfairly levied in socioeconomic and racial terms. From a public policy standpoint, it is projected that it costs more to execute someone than it does to house them in prison for life.
Finally, we must ask ourselves if it is the moral and ethical function of the government to take a life, regardless of the circumstances.
These are the issues that Sister Helen will address as the keynote speaker at the annual Corrections Ministry Conference on Nov. 16 at the St. Paul Catholic Center, 1412 E. 17th St., Bloomington. The conference is from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Registration is open to the public, and there is no cost to attend.
To register for the event, go to www.archindy.org/corrections.
(Deacon Marc Kellams is the Coordinator of Corrections Ministry for the Archdiocese of Indianapolis. He can be reached at mkellams@archindy.org or call 317-592-4012.) †