Synopsis

Sister Helen Prejean, a New Orleans nun, agrees to counsel Matthew Poncelet, a convicted murderer awaiting execution in Louisiana. As she works with his lawyer on a final appeal and tries to guide him toward spiritual reckoning, she also confronts the grief of the victims' families and her own beliefs about justice, punishment, guilt, and redemption.

Factoids & Trivia

• The film was adapted from Sister Helen Prejean's 1993 nonfiction book, which describes her work as a spiritual adviser to men on Louisiana's death row.

• Matthew Poncelet is a fictional character whose story combines elements from two real prisoners Prejean counseled, Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie.

• Susan Sarandon discovered Prejean's book while filming in New Orleans and later helped bring the project to the screen.

• The real Sister Helen Prejean makes a brief appearance outside the prison during the candlelight vigil.

• Filming took place in Louisiana, including Baton Rouge, New Orleans, and the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola.

• Two versions of the execution scene were filmed. The released version uses a restrained approach rather than a more graphic version in which Poncelet reacts violently to the lethal injection.

• The film received four Academy Award nominations at the 68th Academy Awards, with Susan Sarandon winning Best Actress. Bruce Springsteen's title song, "Dead Man Walkin'," was also nominated for Best Original Song.

• The soundtrack brought together original songs inspired by the story from artists including Bruce Springsteen, Johnny Cash, Suzanne Vega, Steve Earle, Patti Smith, and Eddie Vedder.

• Peter Sarsgaard made his film debut in Dead Man Walking.