Sr. Prejean Speaking in Arvada on February 15
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Publication Date: 1-29-02
Contact: Tamra K. Waltemath
303-657-0360
Sr. Helen Prejean, C.S.J. will be speaking:
February 15, 2002 at 7:00 p.m. at
Spirit of Christ Catholic Community
7400 W. 80th Ave., Arvada, Colorado
Sr. Helen received a B.A. in English from St. Mary's Dominican College in New Orleans, LA in 1962 and a M.A. in religious education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada i1973.
Sr. Helen has taught junior and senior high school students, has been the Religious Education Director of St. Francis Cabrini Catholic Parish in New Orleans, LA and has been Formation Director for her community, Sisters of St. Joseph of Medialle.
In 1981 she worked at the St. Thomas Housing Project with poor inner-city residents and began counseling death row inmates at Louisiana State Penitentiary.
Sr. Helen has accompanied five men to their death by execution. She is the author of Dead Man Walking: An Eye Witness Account of the Death Penalty in the U.S., which was on the New York Times best-seller list for 31 weeks and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize.
Her book was made into a movie, written and directed by Tim Robbins. Susan Surandon received the award as best actress in 1996 for her portrayal of Sr. Helen in this movie. Her book has also been made into an opera by the San Francisco Opera Company.
Sr. Helen was a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize in 2001, 2000, 1999 and 1998. Sr. Helen has received many awards including the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame University, the Champion of Liberty Award from the U.S. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers and the Sanctity of Life Award from the Southern Christian Leadership Conference.
She has received 25 honorary degrees from various universities. She is the honorary chairperson of Hands Off Cain, an international group based in Rome working for abolition of the death penalty; a member of Amnesty International; and the U.S. National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty, where she served as a board member for 10 years.
She is the honorary chairperson of The Moratorium Campaign, a group gathering signatures for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty. Presently Sr. Helen is working on a book for Random House Publishers about three possibly-innocent men on death row. The book title is Innocence Betrayed.
