Matthew Poncelet was a convicted killer who raped a teenage girl and killed her boyfriend. Anyone knowing the crime he committed would quickly judge him as a horrible and cruel animal. However, Sister Helen looked beyond his mistakes and imperfections, and treated him like a regular person. She showed respect to him by writing him letters, visiting him in jail, treating him like a person and not a killer, finding him a lawyer, and agreeing to be his spiritual advisor. I think by treating him with the respect she did, it helped him take responsibility for the crime he committed, which led hi

m to turn to God for repentance and forgiveness. She also worked hard to show respect to the victims’ families and learn their point of view on the subject. Upon meeting them, she apologized for the death of their children and told them that they can call her if they ever need to talk. She also visited with both victim’s parents and listened to them talk about their children and how much they loved them. She offered herself to them, just as she did with Matthew as a shoulder to cry on. I think all the prisoners on death row are in desperate need of someone to talk to. In an article by Joseph Ross entitled, “Living and Dying on Death Row: An Eyewitness Account”, he had a similar relationship with an inmate that Sister Helen had with Matthew. Him and Jerry, the inmate, formed a very close relationship, and Joseph was probably the main cause of Jerry’s conversion to Catholicism and his repentance of his sins. In Joseph’s essay he stated, “One of the great sufferings of death row is the day to day brutality. Every detail of these men's lives says to them you don't deserve to live"(http://www.usccb.org/prolife/programs/rlp/01ros.htm). Joseph showed respect to Jerry simply by proving that someone does still care about him, still respects him as a person, and does want him to live.

Most people when asked about their feelings on the death penalty take one side or the other. However, I think as Christians we are called to take the victim’s side, as well as the criminal’s side. Sister Helen worked hard to have it both ways and show compassion to both sides of the argument. When Mr. Percy asked, “How can you sit with that scum,” she replied, “Every person is worth more than their worst act”. She felt and saw the pain that the victim’s families were going through, and was able to empathize with them and comfort them in some way. While doing that, she also wanted to help Poncelet take responsibility for his actions, and also offer him a friend and companion in his last days of living. I believe it is very possible fo

Some topics in this essay:
Sister Helen, Marie Deans, Matthew Jerry, Joseph Ross’s, Matthew Poncelet, Eyewitness Account, Dead Walking, death row, sister helen, Eyewitness Account”, prison system, Joseph Ross, crime committed, death row eyewitness, responsibility actions, view subject, death penalty, row eyewitness, dying death, dying death row, matthew poncelet, Dying Death,