The Death Penalty Discourse Network is an organization dedicated to deepening and broadening the discourse about the death penalty.

We believe meaningful conversation with those whose opinions differ from ours makes for a better, more compassionate society. Such conversations require honesty, commitment and a willingness to probe and become informed about often difficult issues.

Here on our site you will find information about our organization and the projects we foster, including:

• Sister Helen Prejean’s books and talks
• The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project (”The Play Project”)
• The Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty
• The Moratorium Campaign

Sister Helen Prejean is one of the best-known voices speaking against the death penalty in the United States and worldwide. She travels extensively, giving, on average, 140 lectures a year, seeking to ignite public discourse on the issue. Her books, Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents, have reached people around the world and have helped engage millions of people in dialogue about state executions.

Sister 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. Upon Sonnier’s request, Sister Helen repeatedly visited him as his spiritual advisor. In doing so, her eyes were opened to the Louisiana execution process. It was this experience that inspired her to write Dead Man Walking.

Since that time, Sister Helen has devoted her energies to ending executions.

The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project (the Play Project, for short) is an opportunity to broaden discussion about the death penalty and involve schools and their local communities in an inter-disciplinary dialogue about this major social issue.

The Moratorium Campaign is working to end participation by doctors in the death penalty process via its Professional Ethics Initiative. We invite you to help us in this new campaign.

It’s an encouraging time for those who want to see an end to state killings. New Jersey recently abolished the death penalty, Maryland has dramatically narrowed its application, and New Mexico has recently become the latest member of the select group of abolitionist states. We see the number of innocent people exonerated from death row now 130 and growing. We see mounting evidence that convinces even proponents of the death penalty that the system is seriously flawed. We hope our Professional Ethics Initiative will further the discourse about the death penalty. – Sister Helen Prejean

The Catholic Mobilizing Network to End the Use of the Death Penalty was launched on January 25, 2009. It is working in collaboration with the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Its goal: to put the Church’s teaching about the death penalty into action.

The Catholic Mobilizing Network seeks to foster respectful dialogue about this serious life issue by offering educational tools and meaningful actions to schools, parishes, church groups, community groups, and individual leaders and laypersons.