Sister Helen Prejean, Author of "Dead Man Walking," to Visit UB

BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Sister Helen Prejean, whose book, "Dead Man Walking," thrust her into the national spotlight and renewed the public debate surrounding capital punishment, will speak at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 11, in the Mainstage in the Center for the Arts on the University at Buffalo North (Amherst) Campus.

A member of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille, Prejean has served as the national chairperson for the Committee to Abolish the Death Penalty, lecturing extensively on capital punishment and appearing on such national television news shows as "60 Minutes."

In 1994, she won the Christopher Award for Artistic Excellence and the American Library Association Award for Notable Book of the Year in recognition of "Dead Man Walking."

Her latest work is titled "If Mama Ain't Happy, Nobody's Happy: Women's Struggle for Equality in the Roman Catholic Church."

Prejean's lecture is co-sponsored by the UB Office of Student Life, the Newman Center at UB, the UB Department of American Studies, the Sisters of St. Joseph of Buffalo, the Felician Sisters, Stella Niagara Center of Renewal, WNY Peace Center, Cephas Attica, HOPE Prison Ministries and the A. Joseph Bissonette Foundation.

Tickets are available at a cost of $5 through the Center for the Arts Box Office at 645-6916 and through all Ticketmaster locations, including Kaufmann's and Movies Plus.