Sister Helen Prejean Presents Award at the Death Penalty Focus Awards Dinner

 

On Sunday, May 7th, Sister Helen Prejean, CSJ, attended the 26th Annual Death Penalty Focus Awards Dinner in Beverly Hills, California, hosted by Death Penalty Focus. The annual dinner honors those that have made contributions to ending the death penalty and celebrates their continued work.

This year, Sister Helen presented the Mario Cuomo Acts of Courage Award to two worthy individuals. The first, Judy Clark, has represented many defendants in prominent capital cases. The second, Speedy Rice, has led international missions against the death penalty as well as tried cases in the U.S.

At the dinner, Senator Bernie Sanders was presented with the Abolition Award by his wife, Mary, for being the first presidential candidate in nearly three decades to oppose the death penalty. Sen. Sanders also worked to make opposition to the death penalty an official part of the platform of the Democratic Party last year. “Senator Sanders gave a spirited and oh-so-consistent with social justice speech,” said Sister Helen. “It was a great evening!”

The Congregation of St. Joseph is dedicated to protecting all life, from birth to a natural death. We believe that all people have a right to live, and we work to preserve the dignity of all people. This work leads us to the belief that it is our responsibility to work against the killing of any and all people, including those who have been convicted and sentenced to death. Learn more about our sponsored ministries that work toward ending the death penalty here.