Actors - Dead Man Walking

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	Actors - Dead Man Walking

Dead Man Walking is a work of non-fiction by Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and one of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille. She has become a leading American advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Her crusade began in New Orleans, Louisiana, in 1981, through a correspondence she maintained with a convicted murderer, Patrick Sonnier, who was sentenced to death by electrocution. She visited Sonnier in prison and agreed to be his spiritual adviser in the months leading up to his death. 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 counselling to the families of victims of violence.

The film of the book

In 1995 a film, based on the book of the same name, tells the story of Sister Prejean (played by Susan Sarandon), who establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet, a prisoner on death row (played by Sean Penn).

Film: Cast and Awards

Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her role. Sean Penn was nominated for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Tim Robbins for Best Director and its main track, "Dead Man Walking" by Bruce Springsteen for Best Music, Song.

The movie also stars Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry and R. Lee Ermey. Robbins adapted the story himself from Sister Prejean's autobiographical account.

The film takes many liberties with the story that is presented in Prejean's book. For example, it consolidates two different people who Prejean counseled on Death Row into one character, as well as merging their crimes and their victims' families into one event and one family. Lesser details were also removed to shorten the length of the film.

The opera based on the book

It 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 premier of the opera was in January 2006, at the Calgary Opera in Calgary, Canada.

The stage version of the book/film

In 2002, Tim Robbins wrote a stage version of "Dead Man Walking". Instead of having it produced professionally, in 2004 he offered the play to schools and colleges throughout the United States, particularly Jesuit schools. It is part of a three-year project designed to foster discourse and discussion about the death penalty. The project, titled The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project, is managed by the Death Penalty Discourse Center where Sister Prejean now bases her work. Critics of the project argue that it brings politics into schools and the educational system. Others are more positive, feeling that the project offers students an intellectual challenge and exposure to political and ethical culture.

[ Visit the complete Wikipedia entry for Dead Man Walking ]

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