Dead Man Walking Reading Response

Reading log: Dead Man Walking, Helen Prejean, 9/3 2 hours, 9/4 30 mins., 9/5 45 mins., 9/6 15 mins. 9/7 1 hour, 9/8 30 mins. 9/9 20 mins.

Dead Man Walking Reading Response

Dead Man Walking is an excellent nonfiction book about a Louisiana convict scheduled for execution in the electric chair. He has almost no legal help, and no one fighting for him except a nun who is very passionate but lacks the resources or legal expertise to argue against his sentence. Even though I think I know what is going to happen, this book is riveting and thought provoking.  I have spent much time thinking about the death penalty, and I have very conflicting thoughts on whether or not it is morally just.

            The way that this book is written allows the reader to get to know Pat Sonnier.  Instead of just hearing the gruesome facts about the murders he supposedly committed, I got to know his inner thoughts and feelings.  I understand that while he was involved in the harassment and murder of two teenagers, he was also very much a human being.  Having this understanding of the man really made me think about whether he should die, or if another punishment may be a better option.  I still haven’t decided.

            On one hand, I can see why the Louisiana government sentenced this man to death. His crime was horrible. The lives of two innocent teenagers were taken in a traumatic way, and their families were destroyed.  There is no question that he should be severely punished.  The question is whether the death penalty is the right punishment.  Allowing this man to have even the slightest possibility of returning to society because of parole would be unacceptable.  It is possible that he could commit more crimes and destroy more lives.  The state also received a great deal of pressure from bitter family members of the victims who wanted to see this man dead.  He killed their children, and he should be made to suffer and pay the price.

On the other hand, some people believe that it is not a human being’s right to decide when another’s life should end.   God created man, and God alone should decide when a man’s life should end.  Some people don’t believe that “an eye for an eye…” in the Bible should be taken literally, and that if the state invokes the death penalty, they are essentially doing the same thing that the killer did…killing someone in cold blood.  Another issue I have with Pat Sonnier being executed is that I wasn’t convinced that he was guilty of actually committing the crime.  In fact, there was evidence that Pat was just a bystander, and his brother committed the crime.  This evidence was not was not admitted into court based on legal technicalities.  This was one effect of a poor man not being able to defend himself.  Statistics show that most of the people sentenced to death cannot afford a good lawyer to defend themselves. They have to take the court appointed lawyer rather than a high quality one.  A rich man may commit the same crime as a poor man, but in many cases in our judicial system, the rich man is more likely to receive a punishment less harsh than that of the poor man simply because he has more resources and can afford a high quality lawyer.

All in all, this book leaves me with lots of questions about the values of society and the fairness of our judicial system.