Dead Man Walking (play) Dead Man Walking (play) Dead Man Walking is a 2002 play written by Tim Robbins based on "Dead Man Walking", a book by Sister Helen Prejean about her experiences as a chaplain on death row. Sister Prejean's book has also been made into a film starring Sean Penn and Susan Sarandon. Rather than having it produced professionally, in 2004 he offered the play to schools and colleges throughout the United States, particularly Jesuit schools. The project, titled "The Dead Man Walking School Theatre Project" , is managed by the "Ministry Against the Death Penalty" where Sister Prejean now bases her
The Exonerated (play) statute of limitations for the crimes had been exceeded. Ryan declared a moratorium on the use of the death sentence in the state in 2000. In early January 2003, shortly before he left office, he pardoned four men whom he believed to be innocent. On January 11, 2003, having lost confidence in the state's penal system, Ryan commuted the death sentences of 167 prisoners on Illinois’ death row to life imprisonment. He said that would allow them to appeal their convictions. In 2005, the play was adapted into a film of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon, Danny Glover and