April 6, 2018 at 1:53 p.m.
Anti-death penalty nun to visit
"Then the tragic events of Sept. 11 changed all that," said Sister Rosemary Ann Cuneo, CR, campus minister at HVCC and at Russell Sage College, also in Troy.
The college has rescheduled Sister Helen's visit for Nov. 11. She will also speak on Nov. 12 at Russell Sage College.
Terror and death
In her "Report from the Front" on her website www.prejean.org, Sister Helen writes about her canceled visit to Troy and how the terrorist attacks against the United States relate to the death penalty."We have, I think, a two-fold spiritual task: to mourn the victims and to comfort the bereaved, and to search out new solutions of harmonious relationships with the Islamic peoples of the world," Sister Helen stated.
"Our deepest spiritual task is to reflect on why this tragedy happened to us and how we can prevent it from ever happening again. That's the hard part. Because when we've been hurt and are afraid, we tend to strike out at others from the surface of our souls where prejudice lies, not from the depths, where compassion lies."
Deterrence?
Looking at how the death penalty has impacted crime rates may offer some insight as to whether military action can deter future terrorist attacks, she said."I seriously question whether the death penalty, which acts out the military paradigm of 'search and destroy,' will serve us well against terrorists any more than it has served us well against those who commit violent crimes in our own country," said Sister Helen.
"During the 25 years the death penalty has been reactivated in this country, supposedly to deter crime, we have discovered that the state killing people doesn't deter anything -- even the police chiefs across the country know this. We can demonstrate that states that execute the most people have double the homicide rate of states that don't have the death penalty."
Book and film
Sister Helen became a nationally known opponent of the death penalty when her book "Dead Man Walking" was nominated for the 1993 Pulitzer Prize and spent 31 weeks on The New York Times Best Seller List. The book was then made into an Oscar-winning movie starring Susan Sarandon.Prior to becoming an author and speaker, Sister Helen served as a junior high and high school teacher, a parish director of religious education, and formation director for the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille.
She became a pen pal to a convicted murderer on death row and then his spiritual advisor. She witnessed his death in the electric chair. Since then, she has witnessed five other executions and counsels death row inmates as well as the families of murder victims.
(Sister Helen Prejean will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 11 at Hudson Valley Community College in Troy, at the McDonough Sports Complex. The program, which is free and open to the public, will include a question-and-answer session as well as a book signing. For more information, call 629-HOPE. She will also speak at 7:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 at Russell Sage College at the Schacht Fine Arts Center. Free tickets required for entry; to obtain one, call 244-6733.)
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