Sister Helen Prejean, the author of Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the U.S., will give a public lecture in Statler Auditorium on the Cornell University campus Tuesday, Oct. 24, at 8 p.m.

Tickets to the event are free and they are being distributed at the Willard Straight Hall ticket office on campus and at the Catholic Charities Office at 324 W. Buffalo St. in Ithaca.

Dead Man Walking: An Eyewitness Account of the Death Penalty in the U.S. was on The New York Times bestseller list for 31 weeks and was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize. The book was made into a motion picture, Dead Man Walking , written and directed by Tim Robbins, and Susan Sarandon received the 1996 best actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Prejean in the movie.

Prejean began counseling death row inmates at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in 1981, and she continues her ministry today. She has accompanied five men to execution. She also works with the families of murder victims and founded a group in New Orleans called Survive, and she is an honorary member of Murder Victims for Reconciliation. She currently is the honorary chair of Moratorium 2000, a group gathering signatures for a worldwide moratorium on the death penalty by the end of the year 2000.

Prejean served as a member of the board of the National Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty from 1985 to 1995 and as chair of the board from 1993 to 1995. She also is a member of Amnesty International and is honorary chairperson of Hands off Cain, an international group based in Rome working for the abolition of the death penalty.

A three-time nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, Prejean has received many awards, including the Laetare Medal from Notre Dame University and the Champion of Liberty Award from the U.S. Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.

Born in Baton Rouge, La., Prejean has lived and worked in Louisiana all her life. She joined the Sisters of St. Joseph of Medaille in 1957 and has taught junior and senior high school students. Her campus visit is sponsored by the Cornell University Program Board.