Worcester, MA- On November 4, 2000, Sr. Helen Prejean visited Assumption College as the keynote speaker for a Dismas House fundraising dinner. The event took place in the Taylor Dining Hall on Assumption's campus.
Sr. Helen Prejean is a Roman Catholic nun who garnered national media attention with the publication of her book, Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the United States. The 1993 work was an outgrowth of Prejean's experiences in counseling the prisoners on death row. The author soon became an opponent of capital punishment as a result of this work and was a founding member of a group dedicated to its abolition. Later Prejean became an advocate of victims' rights, and it was in this capacity that she befriended the families of the victims of those on death row-families who are sometimes the most vociferous supporters of state-sponsored executions.
The sponsor of this event, Dismas House, is a consensus-based community of former prisoners and students seeking to create reconciliation for everyone involved. Dismas has been located in Worcester for the last 12 years, helping hundreds of former prisoners reconcile with society. 75% of former prisoners leaving Dismas House reconcile successfully with society-over a tracked three-year period, they do not end up back in jail or on the streets (with assistance from the Department of Corrections). That compares with 75% of the general prison population who end up being returned to jail for repeat offenses.
Assumption College was proud to welcome Sr. Prejean and the
community of Dismas to campus.