Dead Man Walking (1996) - Quotes

Seeking Forgiveness Before the End

Prison guard: Do you have any last words, Poncelet?

Matthew Poncelet: [pauses] Yes, I do. Mr. Delacroix, I don't wanna leave this world with any hate in my heart. I ask your forgiveness for what I done. It was a terrible thing I done, taking your son away from you.

Clyde Percy: [Softly to his wife] How about us?

Matthew Poncelet: Mr. and Mrs. Percy, I hope my death gives you some relief.

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Acknowledging Divine Identity and Human Struggles

Sister Helen Prejean: You are a son of God.

Matthew Poncelet: [in tears; laughs slightly] Thank you. I've never been called a son of God before. I've been called a son of a you-know-what plenty of times, but I've never been called a son of God.

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Discussion on Race and Activism

Matthew Poncelet: [[Martin Luther King] I like rebels. Some blacks is OK. ], he led his people all the way to DC and kicked the white man's butt.

Sister Helen Prejean: You respect Martin Luther King?

Matthew Poncelet: He put up a fight. He wasn't lazy.

Sister Helen Prejean: What about lazy whites?

Matthew Poncelet: Don't like em.

Sister Helen Prejean: So it's lazy people you don't like.

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Moral Dilemmas of Justice and Forgiveness

Prison guard: Tell me something sister, what is a nun doing in a place like this? Shouldn't you be teaching children? Didn't you know what this man has done? How he killed them kids?

Sister Helen Prejean: What he was involved with was evil. I don't condone it. I just don't see the sense of killing people to say that killing people's wrong.

Prison guard: You know what the Bible say, An eye for an eye'.

Sister Helen Prejean: You know what else the Bible ask for death as a punishment? For adultery, prostitution, homosexuality, trespass upon sacred grounds, profane in a sabbath and contempt to parents.

Prison guard: I ain't gonna get no Bible quote from no nun cause I'm gonna lose.

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Contemplating Death and Burial Connections

Sister Colleen: If Matt dies, guess who he'll be buried next to?

Sister Helen Prejean: Who's the last person to die?

Sister Colleen: Sister Celestine.

Sister Helen Prejean: Oh Lord.

Sister Colleen: You remember when that sweet little girl in the convent came after her wedding day to introduce her husband to us?

Sister Helen Prejean: Sister Celestine said, "I'm glad I never had to share my bed with a man.

Sister Colleen: She loved her celibacy so much.

Sister Helen Prejean: I know. She's gonna be lying next to a man for all eternity.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Respect and Humanity in Dialogue

Sister Helen Prejean: Show me some respect, Matthew.

Matthew Poncelet: Why? Cause you're a nun?

Sister Helen Prejean: Because I'm a person.

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Perceptions of Humanity and Dehumanization

Clyde Percy: [about Matthew Poncelet] How can you stand next to him?

Sister Helen Prejean: [[Jesus] Mr. Percy, I'm just trying to follow the example of ], who said that a person is not as bad as his worst deed.

Clyde Percy: This is not a person. This is an animal.

Quotes sourced from Wikiquote (© Wikiquote contributors), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Modified for formatting/length.

Unexpected Encounter with a State Trooper

State trooper: I never gave a ticket to a nun before. I gave a ticket to a guy from the IRS one time. Got audited the next year. I'll tell you what, this time I'll let this one slide, but keep your speed down, yeah?

Perception of Humanity and Crime

Hilton Barber: They won't care if you shot the gun. They'll be thinking of the crime. And of you as a monster. It's easy to kill a monster but hard to kill a human being.

The Wrongness of Killing, Regardless of Circumstance

Matthew Poncelet: I just wanna say I think killin is wrong, no matter who does it, whether it's me or y'all or your government.

Contemplation in the Face of Death

Matthew Poncelet: It's quiet. Only three days left. Plenty of time to read my Bible and look for a loophole.

Wealth and death row do not mix.

Matthew Poncelet: Ain't nobody with money on death row.

A Face of Love in Final Moments

Sister Helen Prejean: I want the last face you see in this world to be the face of love, so you look at me when they do this thing. I'll be the face of love for you.