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The movie opens with Sister Helen Prejean (Susan Sarandon), a nun from Louisiana, who receives a letter from an inmate on Death Row asking for a visit. Prejean works in an inner-city neighborhood and decides to visit the inmate. She is warned by the prison chaplain about being manipulated, and the inmate Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn) wants her to help him with his appeal. At one point Poncelet says that he and Prejean have nothing in common, but Prejean says, “We both live with the poor,” something that apparently never occurred to the inmate before. Prejean agrees to help him with his last-minute appeal before his pending execution.
Dead Man Walking is based on the nonfiction book by Sister Helen Prejean. The movie is notable for its objectivity about capital punishment. There is no intention to change the viewer’s mind about capital punishment. Instead, it forces you to reflect on the facts, emotions, and beliefs of the offender, the victims, and all those involved in cases like this. The inmate is on Death Row for a rape and murder of a couple on a lover’s lane. The film is absorbing as Prejean meets the parents of the murdered girl, the father of the dead boy, the inmate’s family; she even faces the anger of her own mother, who resents her befriending a murderer. These scenes are emotional and sometimes troubling, but they are thoughtful, looking to provide insight rather than shock or sensationalism.
As a nun, Sister Prejean believes in the Christian principle that all sins can be forgiven because God’s love is available to everyone, but she does not push Poncelet, hoping only that he will die understanding the impact of his crimes and his life. The movie’s theme might be “finding meaning”—how people strive to move on after tragedy strikes (as a victim or parent) and how to find meaning when your life has been devoid of meaning (Poncelet). Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance, and both Sean Penn (Best Actor) and Tim Robbins (Best Director) received Oscar nominations.
1. Is it morally permissible to execute a murderer if he truly is remorseful and apologizes for his actions?
2. The imposition of capital punishment has been marred by errors in convictions, racial discrimination, and other problems in its administration over the years. Do you believe these problems will ever be eliminated? If they were eliminated, would it be permissible to use capital punishment more frequently as a penalty for major crimes?
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