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.
In the film, 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 condemned prisoner on death row in Louisiana, and she visits him as his spiritual adviser after corresponding with him.
Robbins later revealed that he was advised to omit the flashback sequence, shown during the execution, which depicts the rape and double murder of which Poncelet was found guilty. Robbins chose to keep the scene in, emphasising the need to remind the audience why Poncelet was on death row, and saying that “anyone can manipulate with propaganda… But it’s more difficult to get to a resolution in a complicated way that allows both sides to have dignity.”[9]