- Dead Man Walking (book)
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Louisiana State Penitentiary, the setting of the work
Dead Man Walking is a work of non-fiction by Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille. The work takes place at the Louisiana State Penitentiary (Angola) in West Feliciana Parish, Louisiana.[1]
Contents
Background
Prejean has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Her campaign began in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1982, through a correspondence she maintained with two convicted murderers.
The first was Elmo Patrick Sonnier, who was sentenced to death by electric chair. She visited Sonnier in prison and agreed to be his spiritual advisor in the months leading up to his death.
The second was Robert Lee Willie, for whom she once again served as spiritual advisor.
The experience gave Prejean greater insight into the process involved in executions and she began speaking out against capital punishment. At the same time, she also founded Survive, an organization devoted to providing counseling to the families of victims of violence.
Name
The title comes from a phrase once traditional in American prisons, to designate a man condemned to death. Prior to the 1960s, when guards would lead a condemned man down the prison hallway, they would call out, "Dead man walking! Dead man walking here!" There are various opinions as to why this was said. It may have been to warn other staff or prisoners, to let them know they should be on their guard since a death row prisoner has nothing to lose and could be violent. It may also have been a kind of honorific declamation, to let other prisoners know that they should move out of the way - death row prisoners being seen as an elite within the prison system. Alternatively, the call may have been a stigma attached to the condemned man, to remind others within earshot not to touch him in order not to catch his bad luck. In any case, its logic is clear: the condemned prisoner, in the eyes of the law, was dead already.
Adaptations
Film
Main article: Dead Man Walking (film)In 1995, a film based on the book was made, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.
Opera
Main article: Dead Man Walking (opera)The book was also made into an opera with the same name, composed by Jake Heggie from a libretto by Terrence McNally which premiered at the San Francisco Opera in October 2000. The international premiere of the opera was in January 2006, at the Calgary Opera in Calgary, Canada.
Stage version of the book/film
Main article: Dead Man Walking (play)References
- ^ Schaller, Linda. "The Producer's Journey." PBS. Retrieved on September 1, 2010.
- Prejean, Helen (1993). Dead Man Walking. Random House. ISBN 0-679-75131-9 (paperback)
External links
Categories:- 1993 books
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