Dead Man Walking

Leaving the Harveys’ house shaken by the sheer weight of their loss, Prejean understands the desire for retribution but insists that the proper way to achieve it is through long mandatory sentences of at least a few decades. When such policies are in place, support for capital punishment tends to decline, since the odds of reoffending are incredibly low. She also dreads the media circus that will surround the Harveys as Willie’s execution approaches, that his name will ultimately loom larger in the public imagination than those of his victims. Prejean is tempted to share the Harveys’ outrage with Willie, especially given his seemingly carefree attitude, but remembers that his looming execution is an injustice.

Visiting Willie for the second time, she confronts him with the horrific reality of his crime, and he puts the blame for the girl’s death on his accomplice. He also talks about his difficult childhood and how he had developed a drug addiction by the seventh grade. When Prejean continues to push him, he once again blames his accomplice and says “I wasn’t thinkin’ straight” (146). He is angry with the Harveys for urging his execution in public, but understands that if he were in their position he would feel the same.