I believe Sister Helen's success in dealing with the issue of capital punishment falls on the two cases for which she was a spiritual advisor. In these cases, Sister Helen always tried her best to grant stays of execution or a court appeal. She fought for what she believed in and tried her best to abolish the death penalty. Sister in no way condemned what these killers had done, but tried her best to comfort them in their time of loneliness, sorrow, and need.

first case, Patrick Sonnier, better influenced my opinion on capital punishment. Her strategies in dealing with a convicted killer were brave and courageous. She was always willing to meet with Patrick and to talk about anything he liked. She helped him to realize his mistake, but more importantly, helped him to become a better person. She was always reminding Pat that God had the power of forgiveness, and that if he were truly sorry, God would forgive him. Sister Helen's best arguments were the details she spoke about prior to Sonnier's death. When Sister Helen spoke about Pat's legal defense, it made a big impact on me as a reader. She persuaded me to look at things from two angles, instead of just one. As a reader, I was upset with the comparison between Pat's sentence and his brother's sentence. How could two brothers who conspired in the murder together receive two different sentences: Pat receiving a death sentence, while Pat's brother Eddie receiving a lesser charge in a life sentence. Sister Helen's method of using the line she overheard at Angola about "the wrong brother is being sent to the chair" also pushes the reader to believe that maybe Louisiana is killing the wrong man. How could you be in favor of capital punishment if you are unsure in regard to its accuracy? Also, the methods she uses describing Pat's last night are very convincing and accurate. Sister describes in great detail the shaving of Pat's head, his final march into the death room, and the guards strapping him down. These descriptions, along with the description of his death, give the reader the idea that this is terribly wrong and inhumane. Sister's details really made me believe that there are other method

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Approximate Word count = 1154
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)