Dead Man Walking (1995) Susan Sarandon Sister Helen Prejean Sean Penn Matthew Poncelet Robert Prosky Hilton Barber Raymond J. Barry Earl Delacroix R. Lee Ermey Clyde Percy Celia Weston Mary Beth Percy Lois Smith Helen's Mother Scott Wilson Chaplain Farley Roberta Maxwell Lucille Poncelet Margo Martindale Sister Colleen Barton Heyman Captain Beliveau Steve Boles Sergeant Neal Trapp Nesbitt Blaisdell Warden Hartman Ray Aranha (II) Luis Montoya Larry Pine Guy Gilardi Gil Robbins Bishop Norwich Kevin Cooney (II) Governor Benedict Clancy Brown State Trooper Adele Robbins Nurse Michael Cullen Carl Vitello Peter Sarsgaard Walter Delacroix Missy Yager Hope Percy Jenny Krochmal Emily Percy Jack Black Craig Poncelet Jon Abrahams Sonny Poncelet Arthur Bridgers Troy Poncelet Directed by: Tim Robbins Produced by: Eric Fellner, Tim Bevan, Tim Robbins Honoring the request of a lonely and desperate man, Sister Helen Prejean writes to Matthew Poncelet, the condemned killer of two teenage lovers, and is wholly unprepared for the relationship which will follow. When the date is set for Matthew's execution, he asks Sister Helen to be his spiritual advisor and she complies. As she comes to see the terrified human beneath Matt's brash, unrepentant facade, Sister Helen becomes increasingly disturbed, not only by the terrible anguish he suffers during the long countdown, but by the rage of the victims' families, who seek retribution for their unbearable loss. With his scheduled execution fast approaching, she struggles for the life, the dignity, and the soul of a confused and angry man. In the end, it is her faith and her fierce courage that sustains her when she stands with Matthew and with the victims' families. ========== A convicted murderer on Death Row and the nun who befriends him. Through the portrayal of finely drawn characters and their interactions as the days, hours, and minutes tick down to the condemned man's execution, powerful emotions are unleashed. While Matthew Poncelet and Sister Prejean desperately try to gain a stay of execution from the governor or the courts, scenes are intercut from the brutal crime, gradually revealing the truth about the events that transpired. In addition to her temporal help, the nun also tries to reach out spiritually and assist as a guide to salvation. ========== Sister Helen Prejean as she visits with the convicted murderer, Matthew Poncelet, during the final week before his state-ordered execution. Through her ministries as a nun, Sister Prejean works in the poor African-American St. Thomas Projects of New Orleans and first comes into contact with Poncelet through his letters sent to her order. She responds to Poncelet's letter, which leads her to visit Poncelet in jail. Though inexperienced in criminal chaplaincy, Sister Prejean becomes Poncelet's spiritual counselor and connects Poncelet with lawyer Hilton Barber, who helps Poncelet appeal his conviction with the State Board of Capital Punishment, Governor Benedict of Louisianna, and the State of Louisianna Supreme Court without success. After Mr. Delecroix, one of the victims' father, scolds Sister Prejean on helping Poncelet, Sister Prejean visits the victims' families and listens, teary-eyed, to their stories of pain, suffering, and anguish. Comforted with a tidal wave of opposition and criticism, Sister Prejean helps Matthew Poncelet come to turns with the responsibility of the murders and rape he committed. She sings hymns, reads the Bible, and rests a loving hand on Matt's shoulder as he walks to his death by lethal injection. ========== A caring nun receives a desperate letter from a death row inmate trying to find help to avoid execution for murder. Over the course of the time to the convict's death, the nun begins to show empathy, not only with the pathetic man, but also with the victims and their families. In the end, that nun must decide how she will deal with the paradox of caring for that condemned man while understanding the heinousness of his crimes.