The book In Sweet Company: Conversations With Extraordinary Women About Living a Spiritual Life by Margaret Wolff fea­tures Sister Helen Prejean as one of 14 women whose spir­i­tu­al beliefs have served as the com­pass for their deci­sion-mak­ing and life’s work. Prejean, author of the Pulitzer Prize-nom­i­nat­ed book ​“Dead Man Walking” and the new­ly released ​“The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions,” has been an advi­sor to those on death row and an advo­cate against the death penal­ty for more than two decades. Wolff’s book notes that Sister Helen’s ​“Dead Man Walking” cat­alyzed advo­cates on both sides of America’s cap­i­tal pun­ish­ment debate. ​“In Sweet Company” fea­tures an in-depth inter­view with Sister Helen, includ­ing the fol­low­ing:

​“If you’re not meet­ing peo­ple who are dif­fer­ent than you are, you will believe every stereo­typ­i­cal thing you hear about them.”

You write frankly about the appalling con­di­tions in the pris­ons, the inequities in the crim­i­nal jus­tice sys­tem, the sor­row and rage of the vic­tims’ fam­i­lies, the humil­i­a­tion of the pris­on­ers’ fam­i­lies and the ter­ror of the men you walk to their death. What sus­tains you in the face of such vio­lence and despair? How do you keep from get­ting pulled down by it?

She looks me square in the eyes. ​“It goes back to the abil­i­ty to be present with peo­ple. When I accom­pa­ny these inmates to their death, I leave myself — even my fear — behind. I’m total­ly focused on them. It’s the same thing when I sit with the vic­tims’ fam­i­lies. I’m not think­ing about myself at all.

​“Each per­son I’m with needs some­thing dif­fer­ent and I have to be atten­tive to what that is. Dobie, the last man I accom­pa­nied to exe­cu­tion, need­ed me to be his coach. He was very scared. In those last hours of his life, I said things to him like, ​‘Dobie you’re about to do the bravest thing you’ve ever done. Jesus is here with you and you will have all you need to get through. I’m here with you, too.’ I took him moment by moment to his death, keep­ing him focused in the present every step along the way.

​“After an exe­cu­tion, I thaw out. That’s when I get in touch with the hor­ror of it all. But when it’s hap­pen­ing, I’m so drawn out of myself that I don’t feel my own feel­ings. Each time, I seem to be mov­ing in a cir­cle of light. God’s grace is there. Strength is there. I have what I need to do what I must do.”

I start to com­mend her courage, but she holds her hand up and stops my words in mid air. ​“I nev­er use that word about myself. I’m only doing what love requires. Love dig­ni­fies peo­ple. It’s not a time to be silent. Execution is such a shame­ful, stig­ma­tiz­ing thing. The mes­sage these men get is that they are dis­pos­able human waste, human trash. I don’t intrude, but I do pro­vide a pres­ence that’s there as they need me. Love car­ries me through. That’s what sus­tains me.”

Is this some­thing you con­scious­ly think about doing or is it some­thing you move into? ​“I move into it. Having walked with five inmates to their exe­cu­tion, I now know what to expect. There’s a readi­ness in me to move into that cir­cle of light. It’s unlike any­thing I expe­ri­ence any­where else. Time absolute­ly stops and yet it absolute­ly races.”


The book fea­tures 13 oth­er women who range from 31 to 91 years of age, and who come from Buddhist, Christian, Jewish, Hindu, and Native American tra­di­tions. (The except fea­tured in this item was tak­en from IN SWEET COMPANY: CONVERSATIONS WITH EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN ABOUT LIVING A SPIRITUAL LIFE, by Margaret Wolff. All rights are reserved.) Read more about ​“In Sweet Company.” See Books.

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