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Elmo Patrick Sonnier
Elmo Patrick "Pat" Sonnier (February 21, 1950 – April 5, 1984) was a convicted American murderer and rapist in Louisiana who was executed by electrocution at Louisiana State Penitentiary in Louisiana on April 5, 1984. Sonnier was sentenced to death on April 25, 1978, for the November 5, 1977, rape and murder of Loretta Ann Bourque, 18, and the murder of David LeBlanc, 17. His younger brother, Eddie, was sentenced to life in prison. Sister Helen Prejean was asked to write to death row inmates as part of her Order's community outreach program and wrote to Sonnier. She became his spiritual adviser and eventually wrote '' Dead Man Walking'' (1993) about her experience and her belief that the death penalty was morally wrong. Crime On November 4, 1977, 17-year-old David LeBlanc and his girlfriend 18-year-old Loretta Ann Bourque attended the Homecoming football game at Catholic High School in Iberia Parish, Louisiana. After the game, the couple drove to an isolated area in St. Ma ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saint Martinville, Louisiana
St. Martinville (french: Saint-Martin)Jack A. Reynolds. "St. Martinville" entry i"Louisiana Placenames of Romance Origin."LSU Historical Dissertations and Theses #7852. 1942. p. 480. is a city in and the parish seat of St. Martin Parish, Louisiana, United States. It lies on Bayou Teche, south of Breaux Bridge, southeast of Lafayette, and north of New Iberia. The population was 6,114 at the 2010 U.S. census, and 5,379 at the 2020 United States census. It is part of the Lafayette metropolitan statistical area. History In the 16th century, the area between the Atchafalaya River, in Louisiana, the Gulf of Mexico and Trinity River, in Texas, was occupied by numerous tribes or subdivisions of the Attakapan people. The territory was not closed to outsiders, and several traders roamed through it on business. Europeans did not begin to settle there until French explorers claimed and founded the colony of Louisiana in 1699. They referred to the territory between the Atchafalaya ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Degree Murder
Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the crime of killing a person with malice aforethought or with recklessness manifesting extreme indifference to the value of human life.") This state of mind may, depending upon the jurisdiction, distinguish murder from other forms of unlawful homicide, such as manslaughter. Manslaughter is killing committed in the absence of ''malice'',This is "malice" in a technical legal sense, not the more usual English sense denoting an emotional state. See malice (law). brought about by reasonable provocation, or diminished capacity. ''Involuntary'' manslaughter, where it is recognized, is a killing that lacks all but the most attenuated guilty intent, recklessness. Most societies consider murder to be an extremely serious crime, and thus that a ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Susan Sarandon
Susan Abigail Sarandon (; née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actorMcCabe, Bruce"Susan Sarandon, the 'actor'" ''Boston Globe''. April 17, 1981. Retrieved January 21, 2021. and activist. She is the recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for a Daytime Emmy Award, six Primetime Emmy Awards, and nine Golden Globe Awards. In 2002, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her contributions to the film industry. Sarandon began her acting career in the drama film '' Joe'' (1970), before appearing in the soap opera '' A World Apart'' (1970–1971). In 1974, she co-starred as a Zelda Fitzgerald surrogate in the television film ''F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'The Last of the Belles','' and the following year, she starred as Janet Weiss in the musical comedy horror film '' The Rocky Horror Picture Show''. Sarandon was nominated for the Academy Awa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tim Robbins
Timothy Francis Robbins (born October 16, 1958) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for portraying Andy Dufresne in the film '' The Shawshank Redemption ''(1994), and has won an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards for his roles in the films '' The Player'' (1992) and '' Mystic River'' (2003). Robbins's other roles include starring as Lt. Samuel "Merlin" Wells in ''Top Gun'' (1986), Nuke LaLoosh in '' Bull Durham'' (1988), Erik in '' Erik the Viking'' (1989), Ed Walters in '' I.Q.'' (1994), Nick Beam in '' Nothing to Lose'' (1997) and Senator Robert Hammond in ''Green Lantern'' (2011). He also directed the films '' Bob Roberts'' (1992) and '' Dead Man Walking'' (1995), both of which were well received. He received an Academy Award nomination for Best Director for ''Dead Man Walking.'' On television, Robbins played Secretary of State Walter Larson in the HBO comedy '' The Brink'' (2015), and in ''Here and Now'' (2018) portrayed Greg Boatwright. Early life R ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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 1993 non-fiction book of the same name. Sister Helen Prejean (Sarandon) establishes a special relationship with Matthew Poncelet (Penn), a character based on convicted murderers Elmo Patrick Sonnier and Robert Lee Willie. He is a prisoner on death row in Louisiana, and she visits him as his spiritual adviser after corresponding with him. The film was a critical and commercial success; it grossed $83 million on a budget of $11 million and received praise for the performances of Penn and Sarandon, as well as Robbins' direction. Sarandon's performance won her the Academy Award for Best Actress, while Robbins, Penn and Bruce Springsteen were nominated for Best Director, Best Actor and Best Original Song, respectively, for the single "Dead Man Walkin'". Plot Matthew Poncelet, who was sentenced to death for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Robert Lee Willie
Robert Lee Willie (January 2, 1958 – December 28, 1984) was an American serial killer who killed at least three people in Louisiana from the late 1970s to 1980. He was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of 18-year-old Faith Hathaway and was executed in 1984. Sister Helen Prejean, a teacher and one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille from New Orleans, began to write to him and later served as his spiritual adviser. In her book '' Dead Man Walking'' (1993), she explored her experiences with men on death row and the basis for her growing opposition to the death penalty. The book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn. The book was also adapted as an opera, first produced by the San Francisco Opera in 2000. Background Willie was the son of Elizabeth Oalman of Covington, and had four brothers. In interviews, he recounted a life filled with drugs, alcoholism and violence. Willie's mother said he had a ninth-grade education ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stanley Joseph Ott
Stanley Joseph Ott, S.T.D., (June 29, 1927 – November 28, 1992) was an American prelate of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Bishop of Baton Rouge from 1983 until his death in 1992. He previously served as an auxiliary bishop of the Archdiocese of New Orleans from 1976 to1983. Biography Early life and education Stanley Ott was born in Gretna, Louisiana, the youngest of three children of Manuel Peter Оtt and his wife, Lucille Berthelot. He was a second cousin of Mel Ott, a New York Giants outfielder and member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. He received his early education at the parochial school of St. Joseph's Church in Gretna, where he also served as an altar boy. He then attended St. Aloysius High School in New Orleans. Following his graduation from St. Aloysius in 1944, he decided to study for the priesthood instead of entering the military service. Ott attended St. Joseph Seminary College in Covington before entering Notre Dame Seminary in New Orleans. He contin ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a prominent role in the history and development of Western civilization. O'Collins, p. v (preface). The church consists of 24 ''sui iuris'' churches, including the Latin Church and 23 Eastern Catholic Churches, which comprise almost 3,500 dioceses and eparchies located around the world. The pope, who is the bishop of Rome, is the chief pastor of the church. The bishopric of Rome, known as the Holy See, is the central governing authority of the church. The administrative body of the Holy See, the Roman Curia, has its principal offices in Vatican City, a small enclave of the Italian city of Rome, of which the pope is head of state. The core beliefs of Catholicism are found in the Nicene Creed. The Catholic Church teaches that it ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gruesome Gertie
Gruesome Gertie was the nickname given by death row inmates to the Louisiana electric chair. It is also widely known for the failed execution of Willie Francis, the first failed execution by electric chair. History The 1940 Louisiana legislature changed the method of execution, making execution by electrocution effective from June 1, 1941. Louisiana's electric chair did not have a permanent home at first, and was taken from parish to parish to perform the executions. The electrocution would usually be carried out in the courthouse or jail of the parish where the condemned inmate had been convicted. Eugene Johnson, a black man convicted of robbing and murdering Steven Bench, a white farmer who lived near Albany, was the first to die in Louisiana's electric chair; he was electrocuted in the Livingston Parish Jail on September 11, 1941. In 1957, it was decided to build an execution chamber at the Louisiana State Penitentiary to carry out all executions in Louisiana. Notable exec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Last Words
Last words are the final utterances before death. The meaning is sometimes expanded to somewhat earlier utterances. Last words of famous or infamous people are sometimes recorded (although not always accurately) which became a historical and literary trope. According to Karl Guthke, last words as recorded in public documents are often reflections of the social attitude toward death at the time, rather than reports of actual statements. Published last words may reflect words that the dying person's intimates or supporters wished were their final testament. Actual last words are typically less grandiose than those attributed to historical figures, and are also seldom published. Dying people frequently suffer delirium, diminished mental acuity, inability to speak clearly, or some combination of the three. McLeod stated that people near death do not normally remain mentally clear. Some do not speak before their death. "People will whisper, and they'll be brief, single words – that' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Execution Chamber
An execution chamber, or death chamber, is a room or chamber in which capital punishment is carried out. Execution chambers are almost always inside the walls of a maximum-security prison, although not always at the same prison where the death row population is housed. Inside the chamber is the device used to carry out the death sentence. United States In the United States, an execution chamber will usually contain a lethal injection table. In most cases, a witness room is located adjacent to an execution chamber, where witnesses may watch the execution through glass windows. All except for two of the states which allow capital punishment are equipped with a death chamber, but many states rarely put them to use. The exceptions are New Hampshire, which has no execution chamber (although one inmate remains on death row since the abolition of capital punishment in that state is not retroactive) and California, which has no execution chambers after the lethal injection room and gas ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Stay Of Execution
A stay of execution is a court order to temporarily suspend the execution of a court judgment or other court order. The word "execution" does not always mean the death penalty. It refers to the imposition of whatever judgment is being stayed and is similar to an injunction. A stay can be granted automatically by operation of law or by order of a court, either following a motion or by agreement of the parties. If a party appeals a decision, any judgment issued by the original court may be stayed until the appeal is resolved. Death penalty stays In cases that the death penalty has been imposed, a stay of execution is often sought to defer the execution of the convicted person. That may occur if new evidence is discovered to exonerate the convicted person or in attempts to have the sentence commuted to life imprisonment. In the United States, all death sentences are automatically stayed pending a direct review by an appeals court. If the death sentence is found to have been le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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