Sister Helen Prejean speaks out against capital punishment
As a nun who has witnessed capital punishment firsthand, Sister Helen Prejean has made it her personal crusade to pursue the abolition of the death penalty.Prejean ? who is the author of The New York Times bestseller "Dead Man Walking" ? spoke Saturday in the University chapel to a 500-person audience primarily composed of students and members of various area religious groups.Punctuated by her humor, tenacity and Southern twang, Prejean's message that death penalty should be abolished was unmistakably clear.Prejean ? who was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1998, 1999 and again this year ? said she did not intend to become a spokeswoman for the cause, but circumstances caused her to become increasingly involved with the issue.Coming from an affluent background in Louisiana, she became a nun and worked with poor inner-city residents in New Orleans.