FINDING AID for Sr. Helen Prejean Papers
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DePaul University Special Collections and Archives: Sr. Helen Prejean Papers FINDING AID FOR Sr. Helen Prejean Papers DePaul University Special Collections and Archives Department 2350 N Kenmore Ave., Chicago, IL 60614 [email protected] 773-325-7864 Page 1 of 84 DePaul University Special Collections and Archives: Sr. Helen Prejean Papers Collection Description Sr. Helen Prejean Papers Date Range: 1967-2011 Bulk Dates: 1985-2010 Quantity: 65.75 linear feet (144 boxes) Creator Prejean, Sr. Helen History Sr. Helen Prejean was born on April 21, 1939, in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 (now known as the Congregation of St. Joseph) and received a B.A. in English and Education from St. Mary's Dominican College, New Orleans in 1962. In 1973, she earned an M.A. in Religious Education from St. Paul's University in Ottawa, Canada. She has been the Religious Education Director at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in New Orleans, the Formation Director for her religious community, and has taught junior and senior high school students. Sr. Helen began her prison ministry in 1981 when she dedicated her life to the poor of New Orleans. While living in the St. Thomas housing project, she became pen pals with Patrick Sonnier, the convicted killer of two teenagers, sentenced to die in the electric chair of Louisiana's Angola State Prison. She started to visit Sonnier, as well as maintaining regular correspondence. When Sonnier was executed in 1984, Sr. Helen witnessed his execution as his spiritual advisor, and has been campaigning against the death penalty ever since. At the request of Millard Farmer, an attorney who had become involved with the final stages of Sonnier’s appeals, Sr. Helen started to visit Robert Lee Willie, another death row inmate at Angola, late in 1984. Willie was in the final stages of his appeals, and was executed at the end of December 1984. Once again, Sr. Helen attended his execution. She then became spiritual advisor to Willie Celestine, who was executed in 1987. Her experiences with both the condemned prisoners and the families of the murdered victims led Sr. Helen to advocate for both groups. She started the support group “Survive” in New Orleans, for families of murder victims. She also became involved with Pilgrimage for Life (later the Louisiana Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty). By 1990, Sr. Helen was working on turning her experiences into a book, chronicling her experiences with Pat Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States was published in 1993 and became a national, and then international bestseller. In 1994, Sr. Helen was approached by Susan Sarandon with a view to turning her book into a movie. With Tim Robbins as writer and director, Dead Man Walking was shot in 1995, and released at the end of December that year. In 1996, Susan Sarandon won the Academy Award for best actress for her portrayal of the Sr. Helen character in the movie. Dead Man Walking was also developed into an opera in 2000, of which new productions are still being staged. Tim Robbins rewrote his screenplay to become a play in 2003, for use with the Dead Man Walking Play Project in schools and colleges, which is an ongoing project. Page 2 of 84 DePaul University Special Collections and Archives: Sr. Helen Prejean Papers Sr. Helen’s second book was published in 2004. The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions describes in detail the cases of Dobie Gillis Williams and Joseph O’Dell, both of whom Sr. Helen accompanied to execution, and both of whom she believed to be innocent. In the book she talks about their cases and the many flaws in the death penalty system. Sr. Helen continues to speak and campaign widely for the abolition of the death penalty, and to support death row inmates as a spiritual advisor. Scope and Content This collection contains material detailing Sr. Helen’s work with death row inmates and her campaign against the death penalty. There is correspondence with three of the prisoners for whom she has been spiritual advisor: Pat Sonnier, Robert Lee Willie, and Dobie Gillis Williams. There is also information about two of the other men she has accompanied to execution: Joseph O’Dell, and James Allridge. Willie Celestine is not represented in this collection. The death row inmates with whom Sr. Helen is currently involved are not represented here. There is documentation on the process of writing her two books, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents (including drafts, critiques, and editorial comments), the impact that those books had, and the process of turning Dead Man Walking into a movie, an opera, and a play. Sr. Helen’s advocacy work is represented with material about her work with the Louisiana Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (LCADP) and the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (NCADP), the Moratorium Campaign, the Catholic Campaign, Hands Off Cain, the subject files she collected, her other writings, and correspondence with notable persons, including her letter to Pope John Paul II about changing the Catholic Catechism. The Ministry Against the Death Penalty (MADP) staff files are also represented. Originating through the ministries of Sr. Helen, the MADP was incorporated in 2001 in New Orleans by the Congregation of St. Joseph. Sr. Helen's activities are coordinated through the MADP Offices. The MADP staff files include many letters about the impact of Sr. Helen’s work, as well as the “Ardent Foes”. There are also listings of all the events at which Sr. Helen has been a speaker. These files are maintained by Sr. Margaret Maggio at the MADP office. Lastly there are photographs, awards, memorabilia, videos, and costume pieces reflecting many of the activities and events represented in this collection. Arrangement The Sr. Helen Prejean Papers are arranged in 10 series: 1. Series 1 - Death Row Inmates o Subseries 1.1 - Elmo “Pat” Sonnier o Subseries 1.2 - Robert Lee Willie o Subseries 1.3 – Dobie Gillis Williams o Subseries 1.4 – Women on Death Row o Subseries 1.5 – Other Prisoners Page 3 of 84 DePaul University Special Collections and Archives: Sr. Helen Prejean Papers 2. Series 2 - Sr. Helen’s Files o Subseries 2.1 – Catholic Campaign o Subseries 2.2 – Writings by Sr. Helen o Subseries 2.3 – Pilgrimage for Life/ Louisiana Coalition for Alternatives to the Death Penalty o Subseries 2.4 – Newspaper Clippings o Subseries 2.5 – Sr. Felix Clippings collection o Subseries 2.6 – Correspondence o Subseries 2.7 – Hands Off Cain o Subseries 2.8 – Moratorium Campaign o Subseries 2.9 – Subject Files 3. Series 3 - Dead Man Walking o Subseries 3.1 – Book o Subseries 3.2 – Screenplay/Production o Subseries 3.3 – Impact o Subseries 3.4 – Opera o Subseries 3.5 – Play Project 4. Series 4 – The Death of Innocents o Subseries 4.1 – Research Files – Inmates o Subseries 4.2 – Alphabetical by subject o Subseries 4.3 – Manuscript o Subseries 4.4 – Impact 5. Series 5 – Events o Subseries 5.1 - University and College Commencements o Subseries 5.2 - University, College and High School General Events o Subseries 5.3 – Events for Religious Groups o Subseries 5.4 – General Events o Subseries 5.5 - Advocacy and Policy Events 6. Series 6 - MADP staff files o Subseries 6.1 – Organizational Files o Subseries 6.2 – Correspondence received 7. Series 7 – Photographs o Subseries 7.1 - Sr. Helen and Prison Ministry o Subseries 7.2 – New Orleans: Hope House and Advocacy work o Subseries 7.3 – Dead Man Walking o Subseries 7.4 – Events o Subseries 7.5 – Events (International) o Subseries 7.6 – Photo Albums and Scrapbooks 8. Series 8 - Awards and Memorabilia 9. Series 9 – Oversize o Subseries 9.1 – Movie props and costumes Page 4 of 84 DePaul University Special Collections and Archives: Sr. Helen Prejean Papers o Subseries 9.2 – Awards and honorary degrees o Subseries 9.3 – Posters o Subseries 9.4 - Miscellaneous 10. Series 10 - Media Files (video and audio) Subject Headings Prejean, Helen --Archives. Sonnier, Elmo Patrick, 1950-1984. Willie, Robert Lee. Williams, Dobie Gillis. Odell, Joseph R. (Joseph Roger) Sisters of Saint Joseph --United States. Ministry Against the Death Penalty (New Orleans, La.) Nuns --Louisiana --Archives. Women political activists --Louisiana --Archives. Human rights workers --Louisiana --Archives. Capital punishment --United States --Archival resources. Capital punishment --Religious aspects --Archival resources. Discrimination in capital punishment --United States --Archival resources. Church work with prisoners --Catholic Church --Archives. Language Materials are primarily in English. There are some newspaper clippings and event information in other languages, primarily Italian and Japanese. Provenance The Sr. Helen Prejean Papers were transferred to DePaul University in December 2010 from the MADP office in New Orleans, LA. Accession number 2010.30 Associated Materials Sisters of St. Joseph Collection on Sr. Helen held by DePaul Special Collections Dead Man Walking held by DePaul Special Collections: SpC. 364.660973 P924dpa1993 1993 Death of Innocents held by DePaul Special Collections: SpC. 364.660973 P924d2006 2006 Location 3rd floor/range 31/unit A-F Restrictions This collection is open for research use with the following two exceptions: The Dead Man Walking Play Project was adapted by Tim Robbins and access to the script (Subseries 3.5 Play Project 2004-2009, Box 51, folders 2, 3, and 9) is limited to the institutions that apply to put on the play. As the Play Project is ongoing, this means that reproduction of this script in any form (including digital camera use by patrons) is not permitted.