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DURHAM - Sister Helen Prejean said she used to think that being a nun was a matter of loving your neighbor as yourself. As for helping the poor, her typical refrain was, "We're nuns, not social workers."

But when another nun challenged her to see Jesus' message as transforming society and bringing justice to the status quo, she was stirred.

In the 25 years since, Prejean has become not only an activist but also a leader in the movement to abolish the death penalty. Prejean is famous for her defining work that led to a book and the 1995 movie "Dead Man Walking." She addressed about 100 church and community leaders in Durham on Tuesday at First Presbyterian Church.

She told the crowd how a term she once derided — social justice — came to define her work, and how a single letter sent to a prison inmate in 1982 developed into a mainstream media event.

A short woman with a folksy Louisiana accent, Prejean described her awakening to the death penalty, which she said is disproportionately administered to black men, often because they have murdered whites.

"We've always been intent to keep black people in check when white people are threatened," Prejean said. (more…)

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