Elmo Patrick Sonnier illness, at Louisiana State Prison . He is buried in the prison cemetery. Sister Helen Prejean published a book, "Dead Man Walking" (1993), about her relationship with Elmo Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie, another inmate on Death Row whom she counseled. The book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name directed by Tim Robbins and starring Susan Sarandon as Sister Prejean and Sean Penn as Matthew Poncelett, an amalgam of Sonnier and Willie. Her book was also adapted as an opera of the same name, first produced in 2000 by the San Francisco Opera. Elmo Patrick Sonnier
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