Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking (film) Dead Man Walking is a 1995 American crime drama film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn, and co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins, who adapted the screenplay from the non-fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn) – based on real-life murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie – a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, acting as his spiritual adviser after carrying on correspondence with him. Matthew Poncelet has been in prison for six years, awaiting his execution after being sentenced to death for
Dead Man Walking (play) M. Sheileen Godwin in February 2008 as part of Tim Robbins experiment. The show's cast was mainly made up of students and faculty members as well as members of the community. Sister Helen Prejean came to King's College just days before the show opened and spoke with the entire campus community about her experiences. She also addressed those who were to be performing in the play during her presentation and attended a dress rehearsal. According to the official website of the play, For the rights to produce the play, Tim requires that at least two academic departments in the school