The Anatomy of Reconciliation - from violence to healing: Both Arms of the Cross - The Journey from Perpetrator to Victim's Family

Sister Helen Prejean serves as spiritual advisor both to convicted prisoners and to the families of their victims. She began working in prison ministry in New Orleans in 1981, when she became pen pals with Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers, sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana's Angola State Prison. In visiting Sonnier as his spiritual advisor, Sister Helen's eyes were opened to the Louisiana execution process. She turned her experiences into a book that became a bestseller and was nominated for a 1993 Pulitzer Prize. Dead Man Walking: An eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States was also the basis for the Oscar-nominated motion picture and a new opera. Her 2005 follow-up, The Death of Innocents, "tackles head on the spirit of vengeance...that has dominated the religious, political, and legal discourse of our country [USA] during the past 25 years."

A transcript is available for download (pdf).

Theological Reflection Guide for loan or download.

A study guide and discussion questions regarding the work of Sister Helen Prejean is also available for download (pdf). Also see the related conversation video.