Dead Man Walking Book Review :: essays research papers

Dead Man Walking Dead Man Walking, a story by Sister Helen Prejean, is a superb mass, presenting most of the aspects regarding cap punishment. According to my opinion the unique thing about this book, is its ability to make people reflect upon and even question their earlier thoughts concerning the death penalty. Many varied points of view are presents, but the book doesnt pick sides. Dead Man Walking manages to remain objective even when we approach the painful end. The book is based on Sister Helen Prejeans experiences with inmates on death row. Sister Helen receives a letter from prisoner Matthew Poncelet. Due to a horrible murder to which he claims only to have been an observer, he is now on death row, waiting for his execution. He requests her to come visiting him. In the next few days we come in Sister Helens conversations with Matthew, his family and the families of the two teenagers brutally raped and killed. In spite of the fact that Helen meets a lot of anger and s orrow for her being so involved with Matthew she keeps on fighting for his life. But the appeal gets rejected and the execution gets closerThere is one statement in the book that I think summarizes the theme. A attorney observes it is easy to kill a monster, but hard killing a human being.I think that one of the reasons Sister Helen Prejean wrote this book is to bring to a greater extent knowledge about the complex death penalty to the public. While the rest of the Western world has abolished this, in my opinion, old-fashioned punishment has become an asset to US politicians in order to gain trust from the American voters. Sister Helen Prejean and the condemned Poncelet are defiantly the main characters of this book. Even though few people can unwrap themselves with Poncelet, his grief and despair occurs before and during the injection and reminds us that less than few are totally in lack of emotions. Sister Helen is a Nun who spends much of her time doing charity in her poor neighborhood. She is having a hard time not letting her to Poncelets actions dominate her spiritual relationship, but manages to remember the Christian message Every man is worth more than his worst actions.