Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking” to speak at Denison

Date of Event: April 9, 2013

Posted: March 28, 2013

GRANVILLE, Ohio— Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking,” will speak at Denison University at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in the 4th floor auditorium of Slayter Hall (200 Ridge Road). Prejean will discuss the stories of many death row exonerees. Her lecture is part of the 2013 Innocence Tour, a statewide speaking tour featuring men who have been freed from death row and their stories. The lecture is sponsored by Denison’s Spectrum Series “Creativity and Courage” theme and the Goodspeed Series, and it is free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marlaine Browning at 740-587-6206 or visit www.denison.edu. For more information about the Innocence Speaking Tour, contact Allison Smith at 513-846-9777 or email asmith@otse.org.

During a prison ministry Prejean began in 1981, she came into contact with Patrick Sonnier, a prisoner on death row in Angola State Prison in Louisiana. Sonnier requested her to visit him as his spiritual advisor. Her website states, “In doing so, her eyes were opened to the Louisiana execution process. Sister Helen turned her experiences into a book that made the 1994 American Library Associates Notable Book List. “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States” was number one on the New York Times Best Seller List for 31 weeks. It also was an international best seller and has been translated into ten different languages.” The book also was made into an Oscar-winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn.

The innocence tour is sponsored by Ohioans To Stop Executions (OTSE). OTSE is a 501(c)(3) established in 1988, which seeks to abolish the death penalty in Ohio. For more information, visit www.otse.org. Witness to Innocence is the nation's only organization composed of, by, and for exonerated death row survivors and their loved ones. Through public education, direct action, and legislative and media work, its members challenge the American public to grapple with the problem of a flawed criminal justice system that sends innocent people to death row. For more information, visit www.witnesstoinnocence.org.

Calendar Listing:

CALENDAR LISTING, Denison University, Granville— Lecture by Sister Helen Prejean, author of “Dead Man Walking,” at 8 p.m. on Tuesday, April 9, in the 4th floor auditorium of Slayter Hall (200 Ridge Road). Free and open to the public. For more information, contact Marlaine Browning at 740-587-6206 or visit www.denison.edu.

About Denison:

Denison University, founded in 1831, is an independent, residential liberal arts institution located in Granville, Ohio. A highly selective college enrolling 2,100 full-time undergraduate students from all 50 states and dozens of foreign countries, Denison is a place where innovative faculty and motivated students collaborate in rigorous scholarship, civic engagement and the cultivation of independent thinking.

For press inquiries:

Name: Ginny Sharkey
Position Title: Media Relations
Primary Email: sharkeyv@denison.edu
Business Phone: (740) 587-6266

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