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Torn between forgiveness and hatred
Dead Man Walking Based on the book by Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ
Play adapted by Tim Robbins
~~ Study Guide ~~
Compiled by Dramaturge Skyler Vallo
Birmingham-Southern College
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āDead Man Walking is a meditation on love, criminal violence and capital punishment. In a larger sense, it is about life and death itself. Are we here to persecute our brothers or bring compassion into a world which is cruel without reason?ā Sister Helen Prejean
Introduction:
In 2002, a new adaptation of Dead Man Walking began to take the college theatre world by storm. The show compelled people to contemplate the death penalty and their ideas and beliefs surrounding the issue. The play project is currently a long-standing effort from writer, director, actor Tim Robbins who adapted the book into both a movie and a play. The play seeks to cultivate responses by engaging people in the exploration of ideas about the justice system, sympathy, forgiveness, and finally, resolution. The play focuses on the relationship between Sister Helen and the convicted death row candidate Matt Poncelet. The play also follows a number of effected relationships; it follows the victimās families along with the inmateās family, the prison warden and detention officers, and it also examines the prison system and the death penalty as a whole.
The play centers on Sister Helen Prejean, a catholic nun, who receives a letter from a death row inmate by the name of Matthew Poncelet. Poncelet was sentenced to Louisianaās death row for killing two young teenagers, Hope Percy and Walter Delacroix. Although Poncelet was sentenced to death, Carl Vitello, his accomplice, was sentenced to a lesser sentence of life without parole. Poncelet, as depicted by the press, is a volatile criminal who often makes references regarding Hitler as a role model. By becoming Mattās spiritual advisor, Helen is able to get inside the mind of a convicted killer. With letters and visits, Prejean is able to discover and understand a man that the rest of the world only views as a cold-blooded killer.
Prejean becomes emotionally invested in both Poncelet and the case. She fights through appeals courts and letters to the Governor for Ponceletās pardon. In the end, Poncelet is put to death by use of lethal injection. As spiritual advisor, Prejean helped aid Poncelet into admitting and accepting the crimes he committed. Near the end of the play, Matt has an epiphany where he realizes and admits to the crime. Not only does Sister Helen befriend Matt Poncelet but she also accomplishes her role as spiritual advisor.
Throughout the process of aiding Matt, Prejean also becomes involved with Mattās family and also with the parents of the victims. Through many months of often very distressing and difficult conversation Prejean becomes familiar with how the crime affected three different families. Mattās family must come to terms with his role in the murder and his subsequent death sentence. The Delacroixās, who lost their son Walter, scold Helen for not coming to them to hear their side of the story. They eventually open up to Helen and use her as a tool in the recovery process. However, the parents of Hope Percy are disgusted that Helen can continue to aid a man who brutally murdered their daughter. They quit speaking to her altogether. The audience is able to get a small glimpse into the lives of all the families affected and see that every person is different in dealing with tragedies. We learn no matter what side they are on, they are all victims in dealing with the horrible loss of a part of their family.
The play is much more than a story about the death penalty. It intricately tells the story of relationships and raises questions about forgiveness and love.
A Recent Brief History of the Death Penalty in the United States: The death penalty is an issue that has been debated since our fledging country was first established hundreds of years ago. It has been ruled unconstitutional and has been reinstated again all in the last 40 years. In 1972, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that state death penalty laws were unconstitutional which also brought a halt to federal executions. This decision was overturned in 1976 with new laws and the adoption of new procedures (4). Today, the death penalty is abolished in 13 states and 5 other states have not carried out executions in many years (4). Death administered by lethal injection is the method used by most states, however a few states still use other methods, for example, Nebraska mandated the use of electrocution until it was ruled unconstitutional in 2008 (4). Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 to October 18, 2008 there were 1, executions, of which 954 were by lethal injection, 155 by electrocution, 11 by gas chamber, 3 by hanging, and 2 by firing squad (5). On March 1, 2005 the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the death penalty be abolished in the case of minors and in 2002 they ruled that executing the mentally ill violates the eighth amendment on cruel and unusual punishment (6).
Themes: social injustice, the moral cost of executions, faith, forgiveness
Character Analysis ā continued Sean Penn portraying the movie version of Matt Poncelet
http://i16.photobucket.com/albums/b45/Lgreeley/1-8.jpg Matthew Poncelet
Matthew Poncelet is the compilation of two convicted killers on death row. Poncelet encompasses many characteristics of a murderous criminal from the mere fact that his character is based on a composite of the sinister qualities of two death row inmates accused, tried, and convicted of brutality and unusual cruelty resulting in death. Matthew is a blend of:
- Elmo Patrick Sonnier ~ Mr. Sonnier was convicted of murdering David Le Blanc and murdering and raping Loretta Ann Bourque, partnering in crime with his brother. The two Sonniers discovered the couple during a hunting expedition on November 4, 1977. Loretta was raped and both victims were shot three times each in the back of the head later that night.
- Robert Lee Willie ~ Mr. Willie was convicted of murdering Faith Hathaway, raping another female, paralyzing a young man, and kidnapping along with various other charges. Mr. Willie partnered with a friend Joseph Vaccaro in the demise of Ms. Hathaway during a eight day period in May of 1980. She was found shot and left in the woods to die.
In the play adaptation, Matthew and his friend were involved in the act of killing a young man and woman during a romantic interlude. The young man was tied to a tree and had to witness his girlfriend, Hope Percy, being raped by both Matthew and his friend. In the adaptation, Matthew killed the boyfriend, Walter Delacroix, while his friend murdered the girl.
Questions:
How do artists work to affect social change? Has Dead Man Walking made you question ideas you once had about the death penalty? Do you believe that plays and movies can ultimately change how you feel about an important universal question?
The United States is one of the only Western Democracies that still uses the death penalty. How has the United States evolved in terms of acceptance or rejection of the death penalty in recent years?
Dead Man Walking is now a book, a movie, an opera, and a play. Describe how all of these different areas of the arts can affect the telling of the same story?
Public opinion spurred by the media can effect the way that an accused killer is portrayed. How did Matthew Poncelet contribute to his persona seen by the media? What is the mediaās effect in determining public opinion?
Sister Helenās goal is to be Mattās spiritual advisor. She tells him, āRedemption isnāt some kind of free ticket admission that you get because Jesus paid the price. You need to participate in your own redemption. Youāve got some work to do. (Dead Man, 68) In your opinion, did she ultimately achieve what she was there to do?
The following is an excerpt taken from the book Dead Man Walking and it involves Bill Quigley, a local attorney and his young son. āPatrick has asked why people wanted to kill Mr. Sonnier. āBecause they say he killed people,ā Bill had answered. āBut, Dad, then who is going to kill them for killing him?ā (60) Do you believe that government should engage in the killing of criminals? Do you believe the state has the right to say who lives and who dies?
An hour before Matt is set to die, Sister Helen tells him, āStop blaming him. You blame him. You blame the government. You blame the drugs. You blame blacks. You blame the Percys. You blame the kids for being there. What about Matthew Poncelet? What is he in this story? Just an innocent? Just a victim?ā (81). Why do you think Matt took so long to confess to his sins? He admits his guilt after he was turned down for his final pardon board hearing by the Governor. Do you believe he received his final redemption?
āYou know Iāve never known real love, never loved women or anybody all that well myself. Figures Iād have to go to my death to find loveā (87). Matt tells this to Sister Helen minutes before his death. Discuss the impact of unconditional love. Do you think it would be possible to look past someoneās terrible sins and to accept them unreservedly?
Statistics:
U.S.A. death row population as at January 1, 2006: 3,373 (5)
According to a recent Gallop Poll, 71% of the United States public supports the death penalty when only 26% oppose it (10)
The death penalty costs North Carolina 2.16 million per execution over the costs of life in prison (5).
In 2005, 94% of all known executions occurred in just four countries: China, Iran, Saudi Arabia, and the United States (13).
The United States is the only western democracy that uses the death penalty (5).
Currently, the United States has the highest prison population in the world, with over two million people incarcerated (7).
Currently there are 85 people on Louisiana Death Row. 54 (64%) are black and 28 (33%) are white, and the remaining are Asian and Latino (7).
The United States Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that it was cruel and unusual punishment to execute those who had committed their crimes under the age of 18 years (6).
In Louisiana there are only two crimes that may result in the issuance of the death penalty: first-degree murder and aggravated rape of a victim under the age of 12 years. (10)
In 2004, an estimated 16,137 people were murdered in the United States. (8) (^) Approximately 43% of these murders occurred in the southern region of the
U.S.(8) That year only 125 death sentences were handed out for murders and only seven were handed out in Louisiana. (8)
In 2005 it was ruled that children are no longer executed in the United States and in 2002 the Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute those who are mentally retarded. (6)
In the latest Gallup poll, Americans were asked if they could chose between the death penalty and life without the possibility of parole. Only 50% of those surveyed said they would favor the death penalty and 46% indicated theyād prefer life without parole. (9)
Activities
Character Analysis ~ Student Interpretation
Follow up ~ Post Viewing
thinks thinks
says says
feels feels
believes believes
does does
acts acts
ends upā¦ ends upā¦
Sum it upā¦.
Play Book
Two inmates -Does not depict visuals of - -Elmo Patrick Sonnier the murders. -Robert Lee Willie
-Have the same characters -Ask the same moral questions
-Words come to life portrayed by actors
-Flashback scenes with Hope and Walter
-Patrick Sonnier is put to death by electric chair
-He was very remorseful for the -LCD crimes. projection with statistics
-Vivid flashbacks of the murder scenes
-āOn-locationā settings. Several scenes took place in the actual Angola prison located in Louisiana.
-Sister Helen Prejean on location to give imput
-Both written to inform readers and open up new ideas to a broad audience
-Robert Lee Willie commits murder of Faith Hathaway
Why do people become killers?
Discuss examples for each
category. In which category does
Matthew Poncelet belong? Why?
hatred jealousy^ greed
beliefs
heat of
the
moment
gang related
mental illness acceptance
Works cited
(1) Robbins, Tim. Dead Man Walking. Dead Man Walking Theatre Project, 2003.
(2) Prejean, Helen, C.S.J. Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. Random House. New York: New York, 1993.
(4)News Batch: The Death Penalty. June 2008. 26 November 2008. http://www.newsbatch.com/deathpenalty.htm
(5) Death Penalty Information Center. "Facts About the Death Penalty". April 1, 2008. 26 November 2008. http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/FactSheet.pdf.
(6) American Civil Liberties Union. āMental Illness and the Death Penalty in the United States. 1 January 2005. 28 November 2006. http://www.aclu.org/capital/mentalillness/10617pub20050131.html
(7)U.S. Department of Justice ā Bureau of Justice Statistics. 2 October 2008. 26 November 2008. http://www.ojp.usdoj.gov/bjs/prisons.htm
(8)Department of Justice F.B.I. Crime in the United States 2004. 26 November 2008. http://www.fbi.gov/ucr/cius_04/offenses_reported/violent_crime/murder.html
(9)Gallup Poll: Public Divided Between Death Penalty and Life Imprisonment Without Parole by David Moore, June, 2004, Death Penalty Information Center http://www.deathpenaltyinfo.org/article.php?scid=23&did=1029[back]
(10) Dead Man Walking Update. Quick Facts Page. 2008 April. 28 November 2008. http://www.deadmanwalkingupdate.org/quick_facts.html
(11) American Catholic.org. Sister Helen Prejean: The Real Woman Behind Dead Man Walking. 1996 April. 26 November 2008. http://www.americancatholic.org/Messenger/Aprl1996/feature1.asp
(12) Helen Prejean, CSJ. Biography. http://www.prejean.org/
(13) Death Penalty Focus. Facts about the Death Penalty. 30 November 2008. http://www.deathpenalty.org/article.php?list=type&type=
