Helen Prejean is a Roman Catholic nun and a preeminent advocate for the abolition of the death penalty. Her bestselling book about ministering to death row inmates, Dead Man Walking (1993), was adapted as a 1995 film starring Susan Sarandon (as Sister Helen) and Sean Penn. A member of the Congregation of St. Joseph based in New Orleans, Prejean has previously served as chairperson of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty. Her new memoir, River of Fire (2019), recounts her spiritual journey from praying for God to solve the world’s problems to engaging full-tilt in working to address societal injustices. In 1982, she moved into the St. Thomas Housing Project in New Orleans in order to live and work with the poor. While there, Sister Helen began corresponding with Patrick Sonnier, who had been sentenced to death for the murder of two teenagers. Two years later, when Patrick Sonnier was put to death in the electric chair, Sister Helen was there to witness his execution. In the following months, she became spiritual advisor to another death row inmate, Robert Lee Willie, who was to meet the same fate as Sonnier. ​ After witnessing these executions, Sister Helen realized that this lethal ritual would remain unchallenged unless its secrecy was stripped away, and in 1994 she wrote Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. At that time, national support for the death penalty was over 80% and, in Sister Helen’s native Louisiana, closer to 90%. The book ignited a national debate on capital punishment and it inspired the Academy Award-winning movie, a play and an opera. Sister Helen also embarked on a speaking tour that continues to this day.