I am 16 years old and I think this book was one of the best books I have ever read.I don't read very much but I read this book in about 3 hours. It tells you the truth about being on death row. And has changed my mind about the death penalty. I am going to recommend this book to everyone I know.

This is an excellent book for everyone who has any interest in the Death Penalty. The letters in the book will make you laugh, make you cry, and make you scream! This book is compiled in such a beautiful way that it makes you appreciate that although some of these people may have committed horrible crimes, they are still human, and still have feelings. I have had the pleasure and honor of writing to one of the inmates profiled in this book, and it has been an experience I will never forget

This is the nearest you will ever be to the lowest echelons of hell - read "Welcome to Hell" and weep for the discarded and unwanted members of our throw away society. This is Death Row's own voice - the voice of men who have been shunned and abandoned, sometimes by their own families, whose lives are deemed to be worthless and yet who show through these writing that they retain their essential humanity and still have much to offer

The script of Tim Robbins' outstanding film includes footnotes that detail some of inner workings of filmmaking: why some scenes don't work, why some scenes are cut, etc. If you love the movie, certainly one of the best of the 1990's, check this one out, and seek out Sister Helen's original "Dead Man Walking" which inspired the movie.

This compilation is an excellent example of the wasted potential that the US has sentenced to it's prisons. Within the covers of this book you will be brought to tears one moment then horrified a few moments later. You will be shown incredible human cruelty coupled with acts of caring and kindness. I was shocked at the depth of despair that these men and women experience.

I do not mean to say that the authors of these essays and poems should all be released from the penitentiary. Many of them deserve to be there. What I am saying is that everyone should read a book like this. Especially people involved in the judicial and law enforcement communities. We should educate and give hope to the men and women in our prisons. Because, as you will read in the book, a man without hope is a man who doesn't care anymore and a man who doesn't care anymore will do anything.

Concerning a volume such as this, there is sometimes the expectation that the voices will be all too similar because the environments in which each is writing are much the same. This collection sets most of that concern aside. Each of these incarcerated voices retains an identity despite surroundings that would have it otherwise. Do they speak for all those behind bars? I doubt it. Here introspection is at work, likely the first time for many of these prisoners. It's difficult to believe that so many others, out of control, will ever achieve such a state,or even want to.

It is easy to write off what these folks have to say-- but our nation needs to hear about the injustice of our prison system

It took me a while to read this one, not because it's difficult to read -- the frankness of this first-person account is very readable -- but because it is so intense (not graphic, however). Sister Helen alternates between first-person accounts of her contacts with offenders and with victims' families and providing some stark information about the death penalty in Louisiana. No one reading this will consider her a bleeding heart; she clearly says that severe punishment is necessary. She's also quite opinionated in her "if you're not part of the solution, you're part of the problem" comments and this is giving me quite a bit of food for thought. I'd recommend this to both supporters and opponents of the death penalty, not because of the political commentary, but because it tells the truth in an unadorned, clear way that shows the issues in a new, truthful light.

In this book Helen Prejean does a wonderful job of both enlightening and informing her reader, without boring him or her. I have always known that I was against the death penalty, and this book, along with Sr Helen's experiences, completely affirms my belief, Not only are the book & movie well-done, but Prejean is wonderful to listen to. If you ever have the chance to hear her speak live, DO IT! I had the chance to hear her this past year in college, and then was able to participate in a question/answer session with her in a small group. She was most impressive in both venues, and had excellent answers for the audience's sometimes-antagonistic questions. In fact, the night spent listening to her speak was the most spiritually moving time of my short life.

An excellent overview of Capitol Punishment in the United States. Helen PreJean details her dealings with death row inmates, offers vital statistics and accounts of the cases. If you believe in the death penalty, read this book... you may very well change your mind.