Post by Anja Nieser on Sept 20, 2006 15:18:50 GMT -5
Nun speaks out against death penalty
The torture of military prisoners is not much different from executing a
person for a crime, said a Roman Catholic nun who gained fame from the
book and movie "Dead Man Walking."
Sister Helen Prejean The Geneva Conventions require that each prisoner's
"dignity will be respected, that they will not be tortured, that they will
not be killed because they're defenseless," said Sister Helen Prejean,
author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, which became a movie starring
Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.
Prejean spoke Tuesday at Utah Valley State College as part of the school's
Death Penalty Symposium, which continues through today.
Prejean, 67, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph religious order,
recalled her role as spiritual adviser for Patrick Sonnier, who was
convicted of murdering two teenagers in Louisiana.
Prejean grew up believing there was nothing wrong with the death penalty
because the Catholic Church's teaching at the time said it was "in
self-defense of society."
In 1982, she was asked to write Sonnier. She visited him and he became one
of many prisoners she counseled. Prejean was nearby when Sonnier was
electrocuted.
She was sickened by Sonnier's electrocution. Since then, she has witnessed
other electrocutions and has chronicled some of the experiences in another
book, "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful
Executions."
"It didn't matter one bit that the Supreme Court said it was fine
according to the Constitution," she said.
While the families of victims may experience a sense of justice from the
death penalty, Prejean said the environment in which an inmate is
electrocuted is artificially created to prevent witnesses from
experiencing its ugliness.
For instance, ventilation prevents witnesses from smelling burning flesh,
she said.
Inmates are given drugs before they are electrocuted to paralyze their
bodies so families don't have to watch their bodies contort during heart
attacks that occur after 1,900 volts of electricity run through their
bodies, Prejean said.
Prejean believes executions should be open to the public because people
would be horrified and become opposed to the act.
"We just have never been presented with it or brought up close," she said.
(source: Deseret Morning News)
The torture of military prisoners is not much different from executing a
person for a crime, said a Roman Catholic nun who gained fame from the
book and movie "Dead Man Walking."
Sister Helen Prejean The Geneva Conventions require that each prisoner's
"dignity will be respected, that they will not be tortured, that they will
not be killed because they're defenseless," said Sister Helen Prejean,
author of the Pulitzer Prize-nominated book, which became a movie starring
Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.
Prejean spoke Tuesday at Utah Valley State College as part of the school's
Death Penalty Symposium, which continues through today.
Prejean, 67, a member of the Sisters of St. Joseph religious order,
recalled her role as spiritual adviser for Patrick Sonnier, who was
convicted of murdering two teenagers in Louisiana.
Prejean grew up believing there was nothing wrong with the death penalty
because the Catholic Church's teaching at the time said it was "in
self-defense of society."
In 1982, she was asked to write Sonnier. She visited him and he became one
of many prisoners she counseled. Prejean was nearby when Sonnier was
electrocuted.
She was sickened by Sonnier's electrocution. Since then, she has witnessed
other electrocutions and has chronicled some of the experiences in another
book, "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful
Executions."
"It didn't matter one bit that the Supreme Court said it was fine
according to the Constitution," she said.
While the families of victims may experience a sense of justice from the
death penalty, Prejean said the environment in which an inmate is
electrocuted is artificially created to prevent witnesses from
experiencing its ugliness.
For instance, ventilation prevents witnesses from smelling burning flesh,
she said.
Inmates are given drugs before they are electrocuted to paralyze their
bodies so families don't have to watch their bodies contort during heart
attacks that occur after 1,900 volts of electricity run through their
bodies, Prejean said.
Prejean believes executions should be open to the public because people
would be horrified and become opposed to the act.
"We just have never been presented with it or brought up close," she said.
(source: Deseret Morning News)