"Dead Man Walking" Author to Speak at CU-Boulder
on November
3
Sister
Helen
Prejean,
author
of the
Pulitzer
prize-nominated
book "Dead
Man
Walking" and internationally known death penalty opponent, will give a public
talk at the University of Colorado at Boulder on Monday, November 3, 2003. 
Prejean will be on
campus as part of the World Affairs Athenaeum program and will speak at 7 p.m.
in the
University
Memorial Center Glenn Miller Ballroom. The event is free and
open to the public.
In 1981 Prejean began a prison ministry
after
dedicating her life
to serving
the poor
of New Orleans. She later began a written correspondence with
Patrick Sonnier,
a convicted killer and death row inmate in Louisiana's Angola State Prison. Over
time she became his spiritual adviser and witnessed his death on the electric chair.
Based on those experiences she wrote "Dead Man Walking," which was turned
into an Academy Award winning movie in 1996.
"Sister Helen is one of the most outspoken death penalty opponents in the world
today," said Michael Radelet, a professor of sociology at CU-Boulder and one
of the nation's leading experts on the death penalty.
"Her opposition stems from a strong Christian faith,
a strong command of death penalty facts and first hand experiences
with both death row inmates and families
of homicide victims," said Radelet, who is a personal acquaintance of
Prejean.
CU-Boulder students also are invited to attend a student dinners
with
Prejean
on Thursday,
November
4 at
7 p.m.
The dinner
is only open to CU-Boulder students, and reservations are required.
For more information about the public lecture call
(303)
492-7252. To make reservations for the student dinner email
the Athenaeum fellows at cwaathen@colorado.edu.
-30-
For more information:
Greg
Swenson
Office
of News Services
University
of Colorado at Boulder - UCB 584 (303)-492-3113, Fax (303)
492-3126
