The Dead Girl that got the Dead Man Walking

You remember the poignant anti-death penalty film Dead Man Walking. Nominated for Oscars for Best Director (Tim Robbins), Best Music (Bruce Springsteen), Best Actor (Sean Penn), and winner for Best Actress (Susan Sarandon).

There are hundreds of photos on the internet of Sean Penn on death row, but not a one of the murderer on whom Penn's character was based -- let alone the people he butchered.

The movie came from the nonfiction book nominated for a Pulitzer prize by Sister Helen Prejean, the New Orleans nun and Nobel Peace Prize nominee who campaigns against the ultimate penalty. She counseled a couple men in Angola Prison, Louisiana, one being Robert Lee Willie, who bears a stunning resemblance to Sean Penn, in the weeks leading up to their executions and the book is her account of their cases.

And now for the true crime story that puts a tarnish on that Oscar with the suggestion that Sister Prejean whitewashed the story and rewrote the ending. The man who was executed -- Robert Lee Willie -- was actually worse than the brutal rapist and killer depicted in the film and not exactly the penitent that the good sister describes.

Robert Willie was an ignorant, stinking drug addict who likened himself to Jesse James and who formed a two-man murder spree in a small Louisiana town in 1980. He was executed for kidnapping, raping, and murdering a teenage girl. That girl's story is now a book, Victims of Dead Man Walking. It is is one of the most controversial, interesting and persuasive books I've read in a while.

Written by Detective Michael Varnado, with the help of attorney D.P. Smith, it tells the story of the murder of Faith Hathaway, the 18-year-old Robert Willie and his friend raped and murdered. She had just graduated from high school. She was to be inducted into the U.S. Army the next day. She was a bright young lady with big plans, and she was snatched off the street as she walked home from one last night out with her friends, driven around for hours by filthy, brutal drunks and then painfully killed, her last ungranted wish to them: to let her die alone.

The author, Detective Varnado, was the young officer who discovered Faith Hathaway's terribly, awfully decayed remains after the official search was called off. He shows you several large photos of her remains in situ. They are awful. It is necessary to prove that Sister Prejean got some basic facts wrong about Robert Willie's culpability. Her family consented to show the photos, to show what Robert Willie did to her.

The detective also testified against Robert Willie and his friend. He attended Willie's execution. And he is very angry. From his book:

Sister Prejean says that although Willie acted tough and macho, she can still see the child inside of him. To me, this is outrageous. Helen Prejean has just summarized the horrific crimes committed by Willie that have taken the lives of at least three innocent people and left another physically injured for life. He has deprived a young girl, just starting out on the road to life, of all her dreams, including those of one day being a mother. He has deprived that young girl's parents of their precious child. He has participated in the murder of a police officer that left a widow and young children without a father. And she has the gall to call upon the soft, tender feelings of those who would support Willie and say he's just a little child. Give me a break!

All men were once children. That is too obvious to have to state, but would anyone say, 'Oh, Ted Bundy, he's just a little boy inside' or 'Poor Jeffrey Dahmer, he was such a nice boy.'

In fact, at one point, the detective was tempted to slap the face of the elderly Catholic nun. They were sitting in the execution suite. Robert Lee Willie was about to die for his murderous rampage. The heartbroken parents of the murdered girl are sitting there, the detective at their side. They are told to be silent during the execution. And then --

I hear a sound over my shoulder. It is Helen Prejean. She has come into the room and is standing right behind me. She must not have been paying attention.... as she has begun to pray out loud. Her voice is not a mere whisper. She is speaking quietly, but clearly and distinctly, and I know that everyone in the room can hear her. Her words are in the form of a prayer, but it is an indictment, an accusation that she is uttering. "Please forgive these people," she is saying. "Please forgive them for collaborating in the killing of this man." Instantly, I am outraged.... I want to stand up and tell Helen Prejean to be quiet....

I've highlighted only two fascinating passages from this interesting book. Another book about the "Dead Man Walking" was written by a woman who managed to survive a vicious attack by Robert Lee Willie. The book is "Forgiving the Dead Man Walking" by Debbie Morris.

Detective Varnado lists many, many questions about Sister Prejean's statement of the case and her failure to duly consider Willie's victims. He concludes that Sister Prejean naively accepted Robert Lee Willie's version of events, which of course was more favorable to him than the truth, and grotesquely encouraged him to fight the reaper and make a snide remark about the death penalty his last words on earth rather than a more appropriate plea for forgiveness.

The last third of this book is a fascinating polemic on the death penalty. After searing the reader's memory with the awful facts of the many murders this serial killer committed, the detective holds nothing back as he takes on the principal issues surrounding the death penalty. He grabs you while you're still raw from the pain of Faith Hathaway's death and convinces you not to reserve any pity for men who have put themselves on death row and to wonder whether the good sister's faith blinds her to the cruel fate of their victims.

Comments

[silverside]

I read Dead Man Walking, and as I recall, Sister Prejean freely admitted that when she began to get involved in death penalty issues, she did not get involved with the victims and their famiies, or address the pain. She says that was a mistake, and that she does try to work with both sides. Whether she does that effectively or not is another issue. But I think she is cognizant of it.

[Nene]

This reminds me of the story of Saint Thérèse of Lisieux, who believed by constant prayer she saved the soul of Henri Pranzini, convicted murderer of two women and an 11-year old child. As he was on the scaffold approaching the guillotine, he grabbed a crucifix and kissed it three times, which she took as a sign of his repentance. There's a movie about her:
http://www.theresemovie.com/

[Fiz]

I've read 'Victims of Dead Man Walking' and it infuriated me. To read Helen Prejean's book, you would think they were innocent little boys picked on by the state. She twists the truth in an appalling fashion and I will not be reading anymore of her books. Fiz.

[Gracchi]

Fascinating article- I didn't know about the case. Btw. you know that John Stuart Mill, the English philosopher, argued that the death penalty was too kind a penalty for murderers, he wanted life imprisonment and chain gangs possibly even torture but thought that the death penalty allowed a swift end when things should be slower, more painful and long drawn out. Just a thought on death as a punishment.

[Keith Brantley]

I grew up less than two blocks from Willie. I also went to school with Debbie. He was the Devil incarnate. She is sadly confused. I also went to school with Mark B., the person with Debbie when she was kidnapped. The good sister SHOULD BE ASHAMED of herself. She is a disgrace.

[A Voice of Sanity]

I still see the death penalty as satisfying the barbaric need for revenge, as well as the political aspirations of prosecutors and politicians. If judges, prosecutors and politicians had to pay a real price for every execution I might take their wishes more seriously. But if, like Bill Clinton and G W Bush, they acquiesce to state sponsored murder for political gain then the whole fatally flawed procedure becomes all too suspect and the motives of its promoters all too clear.

[workerbee517]

I have just finished reading Debbie's book "Forgiving the Dead Man Walking", and Debbie is a much better person than I. I don't know whether I could have EVER forgiven the totally misguided Sister. I contemplate whether the people who are in service of the church really read and FOLLOW The Bible. Do they just take 'parts' of it that they like and disregard the rest?

[Truth]

Regarding the characterization of the death penalty as a "barbaric need for revenge, as well as the political aspirations of prosecutors and politicians" by another user: All I can suggest is that the death penalty is morally wrong in large measure because it does not go far enough. There exist among us those who are truly not delusional (as many are today), and who unfortunately, have had loved ones taken from us by rapists and murderers. The people we loved suffered the most vile atrocities at the hands of really abominable people. They were subjected to the distorted whims and desires of evil souls who not only sought, but evidently found, ample opportunities to hurt, torture and destroy others. And we've been left with a particularly nightmarish kind of knowledge -- the knowledge of what was done to those we loved. And we've have had to figure out how to keep living.

We understand the "inconvenient" truth of the matter (which cuts through personal political sympathies and petty, ideological agendas of all kinds) -- that rapists and murderers are pretty much evil pieces of shit who ought to be punished severely -- if not utterly destroyed -- for their vile actions, rather than receive the sympathy of naive, clueless, privileged individuals who are completely removed from the actuality of such crimes. Misplaced empathy, the wish to feel superior, and delusional thinking is making this world ever worse. I don't have the answers to the world's problems, but I do know that any legislation that helps protect and enable sadistic, violent scumbags, and any efforts which attempt to create excuses for these "people," including Hollywood films, are making this world a worse place. Something to think about, maybe (?). Sorry for the diatribe, but am sick to my stomach of all the sanctimonious bullshit. Good night.

[Marilyn]

I am doing an essay on this article for school. I have looked and looked for photos of Robert Lee Willie. Are there no mug shots of him or the crime scene? If you know where I can go online and find them, please let me know. Thanks, Marilyn

[G.R.]

Faith Hathaway was my cousin. Helen Prejean didnt care bout the victims families in my opinion. to me she wrote this book and then let them make a movie about these animals for what? to make a name for herself and money? nuns take a vow of poverty so i would just love to know where ALL that money went. she made millions off this book and movie deal. i am sorry i know she is a nun, but to me she didnt not handle herself like one imo. as for the lady above this past year wanting photos of the crime scene i ask why??????? my cousin was BRUTALY murdered not just stabbed once and left to die she was horrifically and brutally murdered. thank god there are not photos for gawkers to be able to look at. i am so glad this happened in a time the internet wasnt going full blown cause my aunt and uncle went trough enough without having photos of her body all over the internet for everyone to look at.

[A Voice of Sanity]

Sister Helen Prejean is following the examples of the last Holy Fathers who have opposed to the death penalty, often with personal pleas. The crimes are repellent and cause a well justified sense of outrage, but the death penalty is a fraud. It is applied to the least in society, not the worst, and all too often to the innocent. It allows the state and lazy politicians to pretend to be doing something about crime while in fact dong nothing. In far too many cases crimes are blown off by the police as other occurrences, such as missing persons, while a random few are subjected to an often inappropriate penalty.

See http://bulk.resource.org/courts.gov/juris/j1705_06.sgml and search for "Alan Masters" for a jaw dropping case of how wrong the 'system' can go. It's fortunate indeed that the police didn't pin this on someone else - such as Dianne Masters' lover - and threaten that person with death.

[commonsense]

The way I see it, it's all in perception. As humans we need that closure that the villain gets taken out. But in the end, who really wins? I agree that there are some twisted and evil people out there. But don't forget that they too have mothers, sisters, etc. Two wrongs don't make a right, even maybe. But the loved one's of these foul and cruel people have to endure the same pain as the loved ones of the victims,plus with the shame and disappointment of their relative. So what does the execution really solve? Their death won't bring back any of the victims, nor will it take away the pain from their loved ones. So who really wins? I don't believe Sister Helen had any shady intentions. Sister Helen started talkin with the deathrow inmates as part of a community service she had to do for the church and ended up devoting herself to put a stop to the death penalty. It amazes me how many people have such harsh words against her. The las Bible I read said thou shall not kill. Period... And some of you even want to criticize Sister Helen beacause the book and movie made money. Whether she personally recieved money or not what is it to you? Turn your television on Sunday morning. Guess what? What's the next oldest business to prostitution?

[Kevin M. Sullivan]

The exact translation is "Thou shalt do no murder" and not "Thou shalt not kill" as translated in the King James. There is a big difference in the Bible between killing in war, defense of your life or another innocent life, even killing by the state, and what is defined as murder. But the unfortunate King James mistake has stayed with us lo these many years!

[yvonne]

I dont think the lady who asked to see photos meant photos of how Faith died but to see pictures of a beautiful girl so as we the readers can put a face to her name. Also it is human curiosty to want to see the faces of the monsters that kill.

We do not want to gawk, we just want to see their faces.

[Auggie]

Indeed, two wrongs do not make a right. Putting down mad dogs like Willie is not wrong: it is just. Justice makes things right.

[Crystal]

I live in Folsom, Louisiana and have been told that Robert Willie's father had him burried face down for the crimes he committed. He is burried in their family cemetarty, Willie Cemetary, in Folsom.

[Dudley Sharp]

" . . .makes you realize the Dead Man Walking truly belongs on the shelf in the library in the Fiction category."

"Being devout Catholics, 'the norm' would be to look to the church for support and healing. Again, this need for spiritual stability was stolen by Sister Prejean."

The Bourques, Victim Survivors, Dead Family Walking

"Sister Helen Prejean & the death penalty: A Critical Review"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/05/04/sister-helen-prejean--the-death-penalty-a-critical-review.aspx

[AvidReader]

It does tend to make one sick the way Hollywood always puts a sentimental twist on these stories. A killer should never be made out to be the victim. I am glad the book "Victims of Dead Man Walking" is out there to tell the truth.