Dead Man Walking Questions

Bring on the tough stuff - there’s not just one right answer.

  1. Prejean is careful to talk at length about the families affected by the murders. What if she had just focused on the ordeal of the Death Row inmates? How would the book be different?
  2. In the film version of Dead Man Walking, only one execution is shown. How would the book be different if it had ended with the execution of Patrick Sonnier?
  3. Imagine that the Harveys had written this book. Would that make a compelling story? How different would the book be?
  4. Prejean includes a number of references to other writers on the death penalty, like Camus. Were these references necessary? Would the book be better or worse without them?
  5. If a woman who was not a nun had written about these experiences, how would that change the book?
  6. If a man had written about these experiences, how would that change the book?