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
Susan Isaacs books and screenplays, Isaacs has reviewed fiction and nonfiction for "The New York Times", the "Los Angeles Times", "The Washington Post", and "Newsday". She belongs to the National Book Critics Circle. Isaacs has written about politics, including a series of essays on the 2000 presidential campaign for "Newsday". She has also authored op-eds and articles on feminism, film, and First Amendment issues. In 1985, Isaacs adapted her own novel for the screenplay of the Paramount film "Compromising Positions", which starred Susan Sarandon and Raul Julia. She wrote and co-produced Touchstone Pictures’ "Hello Again", a 1987 comedy starring Shelley Long, Gabriel