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Sister Helen Prejean on her 30-year mission to end capital punishment by making it "visible"

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Sister Helen Prejean
Scott Langley Photography

Sister Helen Prejean is known worldwide for her outspoken opposition to the death penalty.

Over three decades, she's worked to increase a national dialogue on capital punishment and to shape the Catholic Church's vigorous opposition to execution.

She's the author of three books, including Dead Man Walking: The Eyewitness Account Of The Death Penalty That Sparked a National Debate. It became a bestseller and an Academy Award-winning movie.

We spoke to Prejean about her continuing involvement in work to abolish the death penalty.

Interview topics include:

  • Ending capital punishment in Colorado in 2020.
  • The role race and poverty play in the quality of legal defense.
  • How making the death penalty "visible," as she says, is a way to shift public opinion.

Listen to the interview to hear more.

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Tami is the Executive Director of KSUT Public Radio. She is a fifth-generation Coloradoan and has lived in Southwest Colorado since 1984.
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