Episode 156: Sister Helen

<p>In 1982, Sister Helen Prejean was invited to write a letter to a man on death row in Louisiana’s Angola State Prison named Elmo Patrick Sonnier. She told us, “I thought that all I was going to be doing was writing letters. And lo and behold, two years later, I am in that execution chamber.” She’s now 81, and has been present at the executions of six men.</p> <p>Sister Helen’s book, <em>Dead Man Walking</em>, is about her time as a spiritual advisor to Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. It was adapted into a movie starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.</p> <p>For a transcript of this episode, send an email to <a href="mailto:transcripts@thisiscriminal.com" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">transcripts@thisiscriminal.com</a> with the episode name and number. Say hello on <a href="https://twitter.com/CriminalShow" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Twitter</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsCriminal/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Facebook</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/criminal_podcast/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Instagram</a>. Sign up for our occasional newsletter, <a href="http://thisiscriminal.us13.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=25658e45f07309154fbf5f23f&amp;id=a7d08cb6bd" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">The Accomplice.</a> Artwork by <a href="http://www.yssrs.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Julienne Alexander</a>.</p> <p>Check out our <a href="https://store.dftba.com/collections/criminal" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">online shop</a>. </p> <p><a href="https://thisiscriminal.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">Criminal</a> is a proud member of Radiotopia from PRX. Please review us on Apple Podcasts! It’s an important way to help new listeners discover the show: <a href="http://thisiscriminal.us13.list-manage1.com/track/click?u=25658e45f07309154fbf5f23f&amp;id=222e220f7c&amp;e=08e90c50c7" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">iTunes.com/CriminalShow.</a> </p> <p>We also make <a href="https://thisislovepodcast.com/" rel="nofollow" target="_blank">This is Love</a> and <a h