Producers of the new graphic novel adaptation of Sister Helen Prejean’s 1993 best-selling memoir “Dead Man Walking” participated in a panel discussion hosted by Fordham’s Center on Religion and Culture (CRC) at St. Paul the Apostle Church on Nov. 6.
In the memoir, Prejean, who also participated in the panel, describes her experience accompanying an inmate on death row for the murder of two teenagers during his final moments. She received an honorary doctorate of Humane Letters from Fordham University in 2024 for her tireless work against capital punishment. Regarding the release of the graphic novel, Prejean described it as the “final wave” towards permanently abolishing the use of capital punishment in the United States.
Among the panelists were Rose Vines, the author of the graphic novel, and Catherine Anyango Grünewald, the illustrator. At the event, they were joined by CRC Director David Gibson, who facilitated the conversation.
During the panel, Prejean described the death penalty as a “secret ritual” that is hidden from the public. This, she says, coupled with her experience witnessing multiple executions carried out by the U.S. government, is what has sparked her instrumental activism towards abolishing capital punishment.
“I wrote about a man on death row, and then I went and visited him, and then I was with him when he was electrocuted to death, and that sealed me in,” Prejean said.
Gibson said that his primary objective in hosting the event was to engage and educate attendees about the use of capital punishment, which he considers a “critical” social justice issue in the U.S. Assistant Director of CRC Olivia Poust added that she also finds the message of Prejean’s work to be important, especially given the current polarized viewpoints surrounding the topic of capital punishment.
“We want to put out issues of religious, moral and ethical significance, like the death penalty,” Gibson said. “This is something that is of critical importance to our society and to all people of goodwill, faith or not.”
Since the release of her memoir over three decades ago, Prejean has accompanied seven other inmates to their execution, which she said often feels “impossible to get [her] mind around.”
“You really see the essence of life in this process, that people can never be freeze-framed in the worst act of their life because people can change, and they do,” Prejean said.
Prejean said the idea to transform her memory into a graphic edition emerged accidentally when she was recording the audio version of her work. Grünewald said she was unaware of how long the process would take when she initially agreed to take on this project, but described feeling “lucky” to have been part of this piece of work. For Grünewald, Prejean’s work is a “story about empathy,” and she hopes the graphic novel will attract a newer and younger audience.
“One of the things that we want to happen is to reach a new audience, which is young people,” Grünewald said. “We want to educate them about the death penalty and about what’s been happening since the original book was published, and to galvanize them as the voters of the future.”
During the panel, Prejean described the death penalty as an “unspeakably terrible thing,” while highlighting her firm belief that society will collectively choose to abolish its use in the future.
“We shouldn’t be killing people and legalizing it. We’re going to put a government in charge of deciding that some citizens can die, and we’ll kill them?” Prejean said. “It involves the guards and killing people. It is an unspeakably terrible thing. And we are going to change it by changing consciousness, changing minds and hearts.”
As a devout Catholic and nun, Prejean believes the use of capital punishment directly contradicts the meaning of the Gospel.
“The Gospel of Jesus was never about returning hate to hate or violence for violence,” she said.
At the end of the panel, audience members witnessed a surprise on-stage appearance from Susan Sarandon, who portrayed Prejean in the 1995 Academy Award-winning film adaptation of Prejean’s memoir. While on stage, Sarandon described her personal account of Prejean’s story.
“There were two things I loved about the book. First of all, this nun kept making mistakes. She was making mistakes, as we all do. And so the unfolding of that story, I felt, was very important,” Sarandon said. “And second of all, for me it was a love story. And it was questioning who can love unconditionally. And I came to the conclusion that religious people do that.”
Prejean said the new graphic novel “pulls people into a story in a way that just the written word doesn’t.”
“This is going to be a new iteration of opening up to a new generation, the story to wake people up,” Prejean said. “I have confidence in it now. I know that the heart of the American people that I’ve experienced is that people are good. You’ve got to bring them close, and they get it. And that is my hope. It really is my hope.”