The likelihood of having Sean Penn, Susan Sarandon, and Jack Black in the same movie seemed to be a little far fetched to me, but boy was I wrong. In Tim Robbins’ 1995 film adaptation of “Dead Man Walking,” Sarandon plays a determined nun who guides a convicted death row inmate. Sister Helen Prejean, (Sarandon), is a Roman Catholic nun who received the request from Matthew Poncelet (Sean Penn), a lonely, desperate man. He wants her to help him with a final appeal. Sister Helen becomes well acquainted with Matthew, developing a sense of awareness with his personal life, family issues, and spiritual absence.

It came to a point where she put more time and effort into his case than she did with her own responsibilities. Following the verdict of the second trial, Matthew was given an execution date. At that point Sister Helen could have discontinued her association with Matthew, but after he had asked her to be his spiritual advisor, she could not refuse. With much controversy, Sister Helen was often confused, visiting both the convicted murderer and the victims’ parents. She eventually persuades Matthew to confess to the crime so that he could be free spiritually, giving himself to God, instead of dying with sin.

As his execution day approaches, Mathew is reconnects with his mother and brothers, one played by a young Jack Black. He breaks down emotionally to Sister Helen, regretting every negative thing he has said to the media, such as how he admired Hitler. Matthew finally accepts in his execution, stripped of his boots and forced to wear a diaper under his jumpsuit, he was stripped of his dignity. Sister Helen, although emotional, was at peace once the execution took place, knowing that he was able to find peace with himself and with God.

Central PA Area Coordinator for Amnesty International Kathleen Lucas, lead a discussion about the death penalty. “The ground rules are, everyone is entitled to their own opinion,” she announced prior to engaging student conversation.

She explained that she is against the death penalty, and shares her attempts on banning the death penalty in Pennsylvania. She believes that there is a risk of executing innocent people, and that the risk out weighs the reward. Currently Pennsylvania has a budget problem, but that could be improved if there was an elimination of the death penalty. The money could be used for other things such as Pell Grants and road improvement.

Lucas also discussed race, and how a good predictor of the death penalty is the color of the victim. If the victim is white, then the likelihood of the death penalty is 75 percent more than if the victim is not white. However, if a white man killed a black person they likely would not be charged with capital murder.

The discussion was enlightening, to say the least. Thought provoking questions were asked, that not all have an answer to. It was interesting to learn that roughly only 30 percent of the world still implements the death penalty, and that it is cheaper to carry out a life sentence than it is to execute an inmate.