Helen Prejean inmates on Death Row and witnessed several more executions. She served as National Chairperson of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1993 to 1995. She published "Dead Man Walking" (1993), an account of her relationship with Sonnier and other inmates on death row, and the factors related to her growing opposition to the death penalty. The book was adapted for a 1995 feature film of the same name; she was portrayed by Susan Sarandon. Her book was also adapted as an opera, first produced in 2000; and as a play. For her book, she drew from her
Kawaipuna Prejean issue which catalyzed the formation of the modern "Hawaiian Movement". Prejean was known for his music and "stand-up" comedy as well as for his unrelenting criticism of the U.S. military presence in Hawaii. It was Kawaipuna Prejean who originally proposed the convening of the 1993 Kanaka Maoli Tribunal, and other historical actions which were carried out after his death. Kawaipuna Prejean died on his 49th birthday while fighting to stop the construction of Interstate H-3, which destroyed many ancient Hawaiian sites and substantially impacted native species along its path on the island of Oahu, including several probable extinctions. Kawaipuna Prejean