Name:_______________________________

DEAD MAN WALKING (1995)

(Capital Punishment, Social Justice)

Synopsis:
Matthew Poncelet has been in prison six years, awaiting his execution by lethal
injection for killing a teenage couple. Poncelet, located in the Louisiana State
Penitentiary,[1] committed the crimes with a man named Carl Vitello, who
received life imprisonment. As the day of his execution comes closer and
closer, Poncelet asks Sister Helen to help him with a final appeal. She decides
to visit him, and he comes across as arrogant, sexist, and racist, not even
pretending to feel any kind of remorse. Instead he affirms his innocence,
insisting it was Vitello who killed the two teenagers. Convincing an experienced
attorney to take on Poncelet's case pro bono, Sister Helen tries to obtain life
imprisonment for Poncelet. Over time, after many visits, she establishes a
special relationship with him. At the same time, she gets to know Poncelet’s
mother, Lucille, and the victims’ families. The families do not understand
Sister Helen's efforts to help Poncelet, claiming she is "taking his side". Instead
they desire "absolute justice", namely his life for the lives of their children.
Sister Helen’s application for a pardon is declined. Poncelet asks Sister Helen
to be his spiritual advisor through the day of execution, and she agrees. Sister
Helen tells Poncelet that his redemption is possible only if he takes
responsibility for what he did. Just before he is taken from his cell, Poncelet
admits to Sister Helen that he killed the boy and raped the girl. During his
execution, he appeals to the boy's parents for forgiveness and tells the girl's
parents he hopes his death brings them peace. Poncelet is then executed and
later given a proper burial. The murdered boy's father attends the ceremony
and begins to pray with Sister Helen, ending the film.
Cast

 Susan Sarandon as Sister Helen Prejean

 Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelet
 Robert Prosky as Hilton Barber
 Lois Smith as Helen's mother
 Jack Black as Craig Poncelet
 Celia Weston as Mary Beth Percy
 Raymond J. Barry as Earl Delacroix
 R. Lee Ermey as Clyde Percy
 Michael Cullen as Carl Vitello
 Scott Wilson as Chaplain Farlely
 Roberta Maxwell as Lucille Poncelet
 Peter Sarsgaard as Walter Delacroix
 Missy Yager as Hope Percy
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Discussion Questions

1. “Dead Man Walking” is a very powerful film. What feelings and/or

reactions did you have while viewing it?

2. What scenes and images in the film stand out for you? What meanings do
these have for you?

3. How did the film affect you?

4. What do you think of Sister Helen’s attempt to minister to both sides - to

the murderer and to the families of the murder victims?

5. What changes did you see taking place in Matthew Poncelet during the
film? What brought about these changes?

6. What new information about the death penalty did you learn from
viewing this film?

7. What new understandings about the experiences and needs of murder

victims’ families did you gain from viewing the film?

8. What new understandings about the experiences and needs of the

families of those on death row did you gain from viewing the film?

9. How were your own beliefs regarding capital punishment affected by

watching this film?

10.Did you find yourself supporting Matthew Poncelet’s execution, or

hoping that his life would be spared?

11. Early in Matthew’s relationship with Sister Helen, he tells her that he
didn’t kill anybody, but ultimately he confesses his real involvement in
the crime. If Matthew’s original story to Helen had been true - that he
had been present and had participated in the crime by threatening the
Name:_______________________________

two young people but had not killed anyone - how would that affect your
view of whether he should live or die?

12. We are not told of alternatives to the death penalty in Louisiana, but if
you knew that the alternative punishment was life imprisonment with no
possibility of parole, would you support the death penalty for Matthew
Poncelet or the alternative? Why?

13. Do you believe victims’ families should have a role or a voice in

determining the sentence in a capital case? Should they have a role in
the clemency process? Why or why not?

14.How does healing come to families grieving the loss of a murdered child?

15. How does healing occur for the family members of someone convicted
of a capital crime, or executed by the state?

16. Many death penalty abolitionists believe that capital punishment denies
the humanity of the individual and the possibility of rehabilitation. How
do you feel about a convicted murderer’s capacity for rehabilitation?

17. Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean seem very different. What bonds
them together?

18. How does this film show the Death Penalty as a political issue?

19. When asked why she is counseling Death Row inmates, Sister Prejean
says, "Every person is worth more than their worst act." Do you agree
with this? Why or why not? How is this statement central to Sister
Prejean's character?

20. Do you think the director, Tim Robbins, wants the viewer to come
away with a particular opinion about the Death Penalty? Do you think he
represents both sides of the issue? In your opinion, what is the message

he wants the viewer to leave with?

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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 dath 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. Today, the death penalty
is abolished in 13 states and 5 other states have not carried out executions in
many years. 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. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1976 to October 18,
2008 there were 1,125 executions, of which 954 were by lethal injection, 155
by electrocution, 11 by gas chamber, 3 by hanging, and 2 by firing squad. 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.

http://www.innocenceproject.org/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capital_punishment_in_the_United_States