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Analysis Of The Movie ' Dead Man Walking '

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The 1995 film Dead Man Walking portrays the story of Sister Helen Prejean as she struggles to serve as a spiritual advisor to Louisiana death row inmate Matthew Poncelet. The film scrutinizes and criticizes the practice of capital punishment in the United States. The narrative is constructed in such a way that the audience is encouraged to draw their own conclusions, moving through an experience exposed and open to all its effects. It is a sensitive and complex look at Christian forgiveness in the context of the criminal justice system. It is the story of how one woman found the humanity in a condemned man and illuminated the power of Christ 's spirituality in the modern world. Sister Helen argues not only for the abolition of the death penalty but for a reformed criminal justice system that recognizes the humanity of offenders. In Prejean’s view, the use of the death penalty is pressing issue which is indicative of the state of society. This issue and the debate around it illustrates a fundamental divide among Christians and society as a whole. In a discussion between Sister Helen and the Chaplain, he asks, “Are you familiar with the Old Testament? ‘Thou shalt not kill. If anyone sheds the blood of man, his blood shall be shed.” To which Helen responds, “Are you familiar with the New Testament where Jesus talks about grace and reconciliation?" This conversation encapsulates the fundamental divide that persists throughout the film and in our society. This is a conversation

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