just to clarify and matthew poncelet wasn not a real person and but a character combination of 2 killer who be both convict and sentence to die for a murder of two teenager . i read the user comment and they react a if matthew be real . the character be base on a mixture of two killer and elmo patrick sonnier and robert lee willie ( who murder separate people ) and the murder itself be base on the one willie commit . the conflict of both willie have someone else present and both party swear the other do the killing be work into the story as well . prejean approach be unique in that she not only be minister to the convict a they wait for their death and aid them in take responsibility for their action and she also reach out to the victim family and to help them know that the convict do and indeed feel remorse for what they do effectively aid both party . everyone post here seem to have strong belief on the death sentence . it not my place to say it right or wrong in theory punish death with death make some sort of karmic sense and however deny a person their freedom for the rest of their day and although costly and make more sense to me be stick in a small room 23/7 ( with one hour of exercise ) for the rest of their day to be remind of the cruel thing they do seem a more apt punishment they be technically alive and but deny living . say someone kill someone so they could get out of the responsibility the person they kill require ( like susan smith kill her poor kid by shove her car into a lake ) . i find it fittingly ironic that they would not get that freedom they crave and would now have to spend the rest of their day imprison . prejean point come through the story very well . she have my respect she manage to find that balance she isn not support a killer and she be guide them to accept what they do . if they do not feel some kind of remorse and they wouldn not be ask for spiritual guidance . ona final note and when poncelet apologize to delacroix parent for kill his son and the parent of the girl who be also murder mutter something about why he do not apologize for her death . i think the point be that throughout the movie and poncelet denies kill both kid . there be doubt in prejean mind he do both killing there be a friend who be sentence but not to death my thought be that poncelet kill the delacroix boy and the other man murder the girl hence poncelet be take responsibility for what he do . have he be responsible for the girl death and he probably would have apologize for that as well .