Unjust System In Dead Man Walking

Unjust Systems Sister Helen Prejean, in her book Dead Man Walking, uses statistics, stories of injustice, and her childhood experiences to relate discrimination and poverty in cities like New Orleans to the death penalty: both are unfair systems that need to be reformed. Prejean first demonstrates ethos, using anecdotes of her experiences as a white child in the segregated 1950’s to convince the reader of her understanding of discrimination. After ethos, Prejean uses logos in the form of statistics to prove that her argument is legitimate. To tie up her argument, Prejean uses pathos by recalling stories of injustice, making the reader sympathize for the poor black residents of St. Thomas. Prejean precedes her description of the problems in …show more content…
Prejean, who spent time working for a New Orleans housing project, describes Louisiana as, “a state whose misery statistics are the highest in the nation- ... where one in every six persons is a food-stamp recipient, one of every three babies born has an unwed mother, and the violent crime rate is ninth highest in the nation.” (Prejean 7) Though educated, middle-class Americans often live in their suburban bubbles, isolated from issues of poverty, the statistics that Prejean uses prove that poverty is prevalent. Children are being born into poor families, and the system of poverty continues as a cycle. The system of poverty is very relevant to the death penalty because poorer people are affected by the death penalty more severely than wealthier people. Not only are poor people unable to afford proficient lawyers, but in some states court appointed lawyers do not have to represent their clients on federal appeal. Just as the system of poverty is a cycle, the system of capital punishment is a cycle. Poor people, who maintain low positions due to the system of poverty, resort to crime, and receive harsher punishments than their affluent