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Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Unconventional: Sr. Helen Prejean received a standing ovation from the audience at Presentation High School on Jan. 19.
A Speaker Like Nun Other
Sr. Helen Prejean brings message of forgiveness to Presentation High School students
By Michele Leung
Sr. Helen Prejean is neither a typical political activist nor a typical nun. An ardent death-penalty opponent and author of Dead Man Walking, Prejean travels around the country to share her experiences with death-row inmates. Her latest stop brought her to Presentation High School, where she was the featured fifth-period attraction.
School officials felt privileged to have Prejean in their midst, believing she complements the school's ethics class. "In our ethics class, we discuss whether capital punishment is just and right. So, to have the guru on capital punishment come was perfect," said Vice Principal Dina Garrett.
Prejean wasted no time in getting to the meat of her message. "I want to take you to some special places in my heart," she said. "Capital punishment is not a peripheral issue."
She argued that the death penalty is not justly handed out. "Eight out of ten [criminals] are chosen for the death penalty because they have killed a white person. Race plays a part," she said. "The death penalty is very selective in how its applied."
According to Prejean, the poor also receive an unfair share of capital-punishment sentences. While the O.J. Simpsons of the world hire attorneys like Johnnie Cochran to save them, "the 'No-Js' get the death penalty," she said.
Her journey with prison inmates began when she lived in a housing project in New Orleans and a man approached her to become a pen pal. "I never saw an address like that before--'Death Row.' "
That inmate turned out to be Patrick Sonnier, the subject of her future book. "He wrote about being confined for 23 hours and how everyone [in prison] was glad the summer in Louisiana ended because it got so hot," she said. Sonnier received the death penalty for the murder of two teenagers in New Orleans; he was executed in 1984. His brother, Eddie, is serving two life sentences for the same murders.
The Louisiana nun wrote and visited Patrick Sonnier during the period leading to his execution. She thinks she made a grave mistake, however, by failing to reach out to the victims' families. "That was cowardice," she said.
Despite seeing several protests mounted against her where she speaks, she remains unshaken. "Of course they feel outraged. That's their moral sensitivity," Prejean said. "They're outraged at me because they're outraged at what happened to their loved ones. But is the only thing we can do as a society is to repay evil with evil?"
Photograph by Skye Dunlap
Sisterhood: Clare Varesio, 17, was one of many students who was moved to come forward and thank Sr. Helen Prejean with a hug.
After Sonnier's execution, Sr. Helen spent two years writing her book. She got a call from actress Susan Sarandon, who wanted to discuss her ideas for a movie. Initially, "I was not going to let Hollywood touch it," Prejean said. "A nun and a death-row inmate--I was afraid they were going to throw some romance in it. Maybe we were going to elope. Or maybe I would tuck some cyanide inside my bra," she wisecracked.
Though Prejean was familiar with Sarandon through her work with Amnesty International ("You think I knew her through her movies?"), she didn't want to be unprepared. She rented Thelma and Louise , but didn't care for the Thelma character, "the ditzy one."
"Thank goodness [Sarandon] was Louise."
At the onset, Hollywood studios were uninterested in the screenplay because they thought it wouldn't make a lucrative movie. After it was released in 1995, Sarandon won an Oscar for Best Actress for her portrayal of Prejean the following year.
"There [Sarandon] was at the Academy Awards, with an audience of 1.3 billion," Prejean said. "That was God's way of giving the film to the world and make them reflect on the death penalty."
Aside from sharing her experiences, Prejean also made an appeal to Presentation's all-girl student body to serve the bigger world outside of their school. "You're not going to be able to do everything ... but you need to put your gifts out to the community. It takes a while to discover your gifts," she said. "I thought I was going to be a basketball player, but I found public speaking is something I could really do."
Prejean's audience was appreciative and receptive to her message. The school has agreed to take on the nun's petition to put a moratorium on the death penalty. "It's the school's goal to become more compassionate, so this is a perfect opportunity," Garrett said.
"I think what comes across is this sense that she's doing this for a greater good," said Sharon Bouska, chair of the religion department. "There's something else moving in her life, and that's God in her life."
Junior Alicia Sweringen found herself speechless. "Oh my God, I had chills throughout her speech." She struggles to find the right word to articulate her thoughts, but mid-sentence, she runs off to Prejean when she sees her exiting the school gym. Hugging her, she says a few words of thanks.
"And you'll do something special yourself," Prejean replied.
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Willow Glen, California Since 1992
