Anti-Death Penalty Activist Sister Helen Prejean to Speak at Holy Name

(New Orleans, La. – March 31, 2022) - Sister Helen Prejean is known around the world for her tireless work against the death penalty. She has been instrumental in sparking nation dialogue on capital punishment and in shaping the Catholic Church’s vigorous opposition to all executions.

Next week, Sister Helen will deliver the annual Twomey Lecture at Loyola University New Orleans. Joined by experts, she will give her talk “Ending the Death Penalty in Louisiana,” at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, April 6, at Holy Name of Jesus Church, located at 6367 St. Charles Avenue, New Orleans.

She will be joined by Bill Quigley, professor emeritus of Law. Quigley has served as Director of the Law Clinic and the Gillis Long Poverty Law Center at Loyola University New Orleans for more than 30 years.  Bill has represented several people on Louisiana’s Death Row and been an advocate for repealing the death penalty for decades. 

Prejean, a Louisiana native and member of the Congregation of St. Joseph, has for decades worked closely with death row inmates and their victims to address problems with the criminal justice system, particularly the death penalty. Prejean’s work was documented in her book “Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty,” which was made into a major motion film and an opera. For her commitment to social justice, Loyola awarded her an honorary doctorate in May 2005.

The Twomey Lecture series honors the legacy of Fr. Louis J. Twomey, S.J, and his outstanding contributions to Loyola University and the South. Next week’s lecture is hosted by the Jesuit Social Research Institute, a research and advocacy center focused on the core issues of race, immigration and poverty. The Institute is a collaboration of Loyola University New Orleans and the Central and Southern Province of the Society of Jesus, rooted in the faith that does justice.

The event is free and open to the public.