Dead Man Walking - by Helen Prejean & Rose Vines (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

In this graphic adaptation of Sister Helen Prejean's bestselling memoir, acclaimed artist Catherine Anyango Grünewald and writer Rose Vines bring to striking visual life the story of a nun who becomes a fierce advocate against the death penalty.

"The now legendary story of Dead Man Walking has been heard and seen by millions. This updated, graphic presentation is yet another way for others, hopefully a new generation, to witness the inhumane treatment of those in our prisons."--John Grisham

Growing up in a middle-class Roman Catholic family in the Jim Crow South, Sister Helen Prejean had resisted the idea that religious faith could be harnessed into social justice until dramatic changes sweeping the Catholic Church in the 1960s and '70s landed her in the heart of the New Orleans housing projects.

There, she was asked to write a letter to Patrick Sonnier--a man sentenced to die in Louisiana's electric chair for the murder of two teenagers. When Sonnier wrote back, Prejean's life irrevocably altered course. She came to know a man who was as terrified as he had once been terrifying, as well as the victims' families and the men who were charged with putting Sonnier to death.

For more than four decades, Prejean has worked alongside the convicted, as well as the families of victims, to abolish the death penalty, a sentence often determined by race, economic status, and geography.

This graphic adaptation of Prejean's memoir offers an accessible way to engage with one of the most complex moral and emotional issues facing our country. Rose Vines skillfully interlaces recent developments with the original account, amplifying its relevance for today's readers. Catherine Anyango Grünewald's illustrations urge us to grapple with the humanity of this story, drawing an evocative, unforgettable portrait of mercy and justice.

Review Quotes

"The now legendary story of Dead Man Walking has been heard and seen by millions. This updated, graphic presentation is yet another way for others, hopefully a new generation, to witness the inhumane treatment of those in our prisons. As I read it, I asked once again the question so many evade: If it is wrong to kill, why do we allow the State to kill in our name?"--John Grisham, #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Innocent Man and co-author of Framed

"Sister Helen's powerful story of the harm we create when we kill one another is an essential read not just for understanding the cruelty of capital punishment, but also the beauty of mercy, justice, and redemption."--Bryan Stevenson, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Just Mercy

"Three decades after the memoir and film adaptation, the graphic novel targets a fresh audience through a new medium. . . . Striking visuals and judicious editing renew [the] crusading Sister Prejean's memoir and her experiences with two inmates on death row. . . . There is no flinching here from the darkness of these horrendous crimes, yet there are glimmers of redemptive light."--Kirkus Reviews

"Chronicling the sister's emergence as one of the most well-known advocates against the death penalty, this mixed memoir and history invites readers to consider the death penalty not in the abstract but as an action, a policy, that impacts real people, in often complicated and unexpected ways. Illustrated in a realistic style, with limited use of color (to great effect) and a variety of complex, full-page spreads that seamlessly integrate letters, newspaper clippings, and recreations of historical images, the comic pages emphasize the humanity of those facing death, their families, and those they have harmed in a way prose alone never could."--Booklist

About the Author

Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, a member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, is known worldwide for sparking a dialogue on the death penalty. She uses storytelling to bring citizens close to the hard realities of government killings. Her book, Dead Man Walking, has been turned into a film, a play, and an opera.

Catherine Anyango Grünewald is an internationally exhibited artist and lecturer. She was awarded the Navigator Art on Paper Prize, the largest award for work on paper in the world. She taught at the Royal College of Art in London for ten years and is now a senior lecturer in illustration at Konstfack University of Arts, Crafts and Design in Stockholm.

Rose Vines is an award-winning writer, editor, and technology expert who has worked alongside Sister Helen Prejean at the Ministry Against the Death Penalty for more than two decades. She has also created a companion website for this book.