“They killed a man with fire one night. They strapped him in a wooden chair and pumped electricity through his body until he was dead.” …I was there. I saw it with my own eyes. What I saw set my soul on fire, a fire that burns me still. And now here is an account of how I came to be and still am.” (Sr. Helen Prejean)
Sr. Helen shared first hand accounts at KU on March 5th of her journeys with murder victim families, inmates, and corrections professionals and the reality of the death penalty. “There’s nothing like being close to the fire” she said in describing how proximity to capital punishment’s actual process teaches a person about the impact it has on everyone it touches.
Sr. Helen encouraged the many young adults in the audience to continue learning and dialoguing about the death penalty because they can make a difference in political dialogue. That is especially true in places like Kansas where the death penalty is on the books but isn’t being used. She noted the momentum building in Kansas for abolition and encouraged those in attendance to become more involved in the abolition effort.
The inspiring event was organized by the KU Jayhawks for Life organization.
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