SISTER
Explore the documentary by Joe Cardona and José Vasquez Dig into our collection of videos, articles, classroom resources, and action ideas.
Forgiveness and Compassion
Who and what is forgiveable? Are there limits to compassion? What is a consistent ethic of life?
Explore the boundaries
Death Penalty Myths and Realities
Did you know that executing someone is more costly than keeping them in prison for life? That 80% of executions take place in two counties in the USA? That most executions occur in places where lynchings were common? That by a conservative estimate 1 person in every 25 on death row is innocent?
Bone up!
Innocence
Because not everyone can afford a good lawyer, because the police and juries are not infallible, because ambition and politics sometimes outweigh prosecutors’ dedication to the truth, innocent people end up on death row.
Meet some of them
Who Gets Death?
Supposedly it’s the worst of the worst. More often, it’s the poorest of the poor and the most broken of the broken.
Why is it so?
The Voices of Victims' Families
The voices of victims’ families are raised both for and against the death penalty.
Listen
Racism
Slavery and lynching, mass incarceration and the death penalty. The historical antecedents of our current prison system and of how capital punishment is practiced today cannot be ignored.
Follow the path
The Arts and Social Change
The arts are sneaky. What we portray in the arts has the power to worm its way into hearts and minds.
Be inspired
Nuns in the 21st Century
Numbers may be on the decline, but the core, community-centered work continues.
Whither the sisterhood?
Spirituality and Social Justice
Pursuit of the common good… Do unto others… These are tenets of all great spiritual teachings. Does spirituality mandate a call to action?
Find out more
Looking in the Mirror
What does the death penalty say about me?
Take a look
Take Action!
Are you moved to act? Join with others to end capital punishment in your state, across the nation, or around the world.
Find out how
Connect
Sister Helen Prejean engages in an ongoing discussion with her social media communities. Click to join her Facebook community or find her on Twitter and Instagram, #helenprejean.