Sister Helen Prejean speaks to ETSU students on capital punishment

  “Most people do not reflect deeply on the death penalty, and if you suffer doubts, you are not alone,” said Sister Helen Prejean, the author of the book “Dead Man Walking” and a leading proponent for the abolition of the death penalty.

Prejean came to ETSU last Thursday to discuss the effects of capital punishment on individuals and society. During the program she spoke of her life’s journey toward writing her book and her relationship with death row inmate Elmo Patrick Sonnier and others on death row who she has ministered to.

Prejean said the book’s journey is to drag the reader into the story of a death row inmate and to discover what it means for the state of Louisiana to kill a man.

She spoke about the process of capital punishment and its effects on the inmate and his family, the legal system surrounding the death penalty and how capital punishment affects the victim’s families.

Referring to Godfrey Bourque, father of Loretta Ann Bourque, who Sonnier was convicted of murdering, Prejean said that he could watch Sonnier’s execution a thousand times but it would not bring back his daughter.

She added that there are three places to view an execution, and one of them is where mothers hold their hands on the glass and watch as their children die.

Jonathan Calloway, the president of Amnesty International at ETSU, which hosted the event, said that he became interested in Prejean’s work several years ago. He took an ethics class where he saw the movie “Dead Man Walking” and was very much affected by the movie, he said.

“The more I read about Sister Helen, the more I admired her commitment to social justice and her uncompromising resolve to seek life even for those considered by our society as disposable human waste,” Calloway said.

The purpose of the event was to open a discussion about the death penalty on the ETSU campus and to “affect others in the same way that Sister Helen had affected me,” said Calloway.

“It’s so important that we promote a culture of life by reflecting on the dignity of all persons ­— whether innocent or guilty. When we do that, real justice will prevail for victims and perpetrators,” said Calloway.

Prejean’s event was also co-sponsored by the Honors College, the Philosophy Department, the Criminal Justice Department and the Catholic Center.