Death Penalty In Helen Prejean's Dead Man Walking

Since 1977, the majority of death row inmates in the United States have been executed for killing white people. Yet, studies have shown that African Americans make up almost half of all homicides victims. For this reason, for years, capital punishment has been a source of a lot of controversy among human rights advocates and the american government. The book Dead Man Walking depicts the journey of a nun, Sister Helen Prejean, against the biased judicial system in the United States. Focusing in the death penalty issue, Prejean share her deepest thoughts while she experiences being the spiritual adviser of a “dead man walking”, a man convicted to death. Initially, Sister Prejean is naive, and she has no clue about how flawed and racially biased the death penalty in the United States

The book provide examples of authorities, such as the Governor Edwin Edwards, who acknowledge that the criminal system is flawed and demands reform. Yet, because of political reasons, they prefer to ignore facts and not be the one responsible for contradicting the system and risking their job. Prejean proves that by choosing to let injustice to happen, even if it is not in their power to change, those authorities are being as immoral as the penal system itself. I find that the most valuable message the author is trying to provide us is how important personal responsibility is in order to fight for justice. By the end of the book, the reader understands that we are responsible not only for our own actions, but also for the fact that we are aware of injustice and, yet, chooses to do nothing about it. Even though we are not the person who is pushing the button of the electric chair, or the judge prosecuting a biased trial, we are equally responsible if we don’t make any effort to fight for what it is