Primary sources are created by people \u2013 living, breathing people – as a natural process of going about one\u2019s daily life and interacting with the world.\u00a0Researchers use primary sources to better understand a historical event, public sentiment, and private actions.\u00a0\u00a0These brief biographies provide some context to the people \u2013 not just names – you will encounter in the archival documents included in this teaching kit.<\/p>\n
Sr. Helen Prejean<\/strong> released the book Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States<\/em> in 1993.\u00a0 Prejean wrote this international bestseller based on her 1984 experiences as a spiritual advisor for death row inmates Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie.\u00a0 As a spiritual advisor she corresponded and visited with the inmates, advocated for reduced sentences, and ultimately witnessed their executions.\u00a0 Prejean also interacted with the victims\u2019 families, the inmates\u2019 families, prison officials, politicians, religious leaders, and the press.\u00a0 Influenced by these experiences, Prejean\u2019s continuing activism included advocating against the death penalty with the non-profit organization Pilgrimage for Life.\u00a0 She also worked with the families of murder victims, starting the support group Survive.\u00a0 The book Dead Man Walking<\/em> became the basis for a critically acclaimed film, opera, and school theater project of the same title.\u00a0 Sr. Helen Prejean currently campaigns through her organization Ministry Against the Death Penalty.<\/p>\n Jason Epstein<\/strong> served as the editorial director at Random House for forty years.\u00a0 During his time at Random House, Epstein worked with many notable authors, including Norman Mailer, Vladimir Nabokov, Sr. Helen Prejean, and Gore Vidal.\u00a0 Epstein\u2019s editorial contributions significantly influenced Sr. Helen Prejean\u2019s book Dead Man Walking<\/em>, resulting in a reader-friendly narrative structure echoing Prejean\u2019s voice and thoughts.<\/p>\n Elmo Patrick Sonnier<\/strong> and his brother Eddie Sonnier were convicted of the November 4, 1977, rape and murder of eighteen-year-old Loretta Ann Bourque and murder of sixteen-year-old David LeBlanc.\u00a0 Patrick received a death sentence, while Eddie received a life sentence.\u00a0 Sr. Helen Prejean wrote letters to Patrick Sonnier on death row at Angola State Prison, visited him in jail, and became his spiritual advisor.\u00a0 Pat Sonnier was executed by the state of Louisiana on April 5, 1984, at Angola State Prison.<\/p>\n Eddie Sonnier<\/strong> and his brother Patrick Sonnier were convicted of the November 4, 1977, rape and murder of eighteen-year-old Loretta Ann Bourque and murder of sixteen-year-old David LeBlanc.\u00a0 Eddie received a life sentence, while Patrick received a death sentence.\u00a0 Eddie eventually claimed that he was the one responsible for shooting the victims.\u00a0 He made this statement in court and in a letter to Louisiana Governor Edwin W. Edwards pleading for his brother\u2019s life.<\/p>\n Robert Lee Willie<\/strong> and Joseph J. Vaccaro were convicted of the May 28, 1980, rape and murder of 18 year old Faith Hathaway in Washington Parish, Louisiana.\u00a0 Willie received a death sentence, while Vaccaro received a life sentence.\u00a0 Sr. Helen Prejean began visiting Willie at Angola State Prison in October 1984 and served as his spiritual advisor.\u00a0 Robert Lee Willie was executed by the state of Louisiana on December 28, 1984, at Angola State Prison.<\/p>\n Vernon and Elizabeth Harvey<\/strong> are the stepfather and mother of Faith Hathaway, who was raped and murdered on May 28, 1980.\u00a0 Robert Lee Willie and Joseph J. Vaccaro were convicted of the crimes against their daughter.\u00a0 Sr. Helen Prejean developed a relationship with the Harveys which led her to begin a support group for the families of murder victims.<\/p>\n Edwin W. Edwards<\/strong> was a Louisiana State senator, member of the U.S. House of Representatives, and four-term governor of the state of Louisiana.\u00a0 Thirteen Louisiana death row inmates were executed while Edwards served as the state\u2019s governor.\u00a0 In 1984, Sr. Helen Prejean and others asked Governor Edwards to commute the sentences of Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie to life in prison.\u00a0 Edwards did not intervene in either case.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Primary sources are created by people \u2013 living, breathing people – as a natural process of going about one\u2019s daily life and interacting with<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-76","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=76"}],"version-history":[{"count":16,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":539,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/76\/revisions\/539"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=76"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=76"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/spca.depaul.press\/prejean\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=76"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}