DEAD MAN WALKING – Synopsis by Clifford “Kip” Cranna, with composer Jake Heggie
Setting: Louisiana, in the 1980s
(Courtesy of Houston Grand Opera)
Prologue Two teenagers are brutally murdered by brothers Joseph and Anthony de Rocher.
Act I In a poor New Orleans school, Sister Helen and Sister Rose teach a hymn to a group of children. Helen is distracted as she thinks about her plan to visit Angola State Penitentiary where her new pen pal, a death row inmate named Joseph de Rocher, has asked her to visit. Against Rose’s advice, Helen makes the long drive to Angola and ponders the momentous step she is taking. A motor cop catches her speeding, but lets her off with a warning, asking her to pray for his sick mother. Sister Helen prays for guidance as she resumes her journey.
When she arrives, Helen is greeted by prison chaplain Father Grenville. On the way to his office, they see inmates engaged in a rough game of basketball. In a tense meeting, the chaplain angrily warns Sister Helen that she is wasting her time: Joseph is “beyond anyone’s help.” The prison warden arrives and tells her that Joe is likely to ask her to serve as his spiritual advisor as he prepares for execution. Inmates taunt Sister Helen from their cells as she walks toward death row.
Joe and Helen have an awkward first meeting. Masking his true feelings with bravado, De Rocher tests the nun’s tolerance by recalling the pleasures he has known with women. Helen calls his bluff and Joe admits to his fear. He requests that she be his spiritual advisor and both acknowledge that they “can’t do it alone.” Joe asks her to accompany his mother to the pardon board hearing and Helen agrees.
In the court room, the frightened Mrs. De Rocher does her best to plead for her son’s life: she is a small woman in the face of enormous hostility. During her testimony, Owen Hart, the father of the murdered teenage girl, explodes with rage and recounts the grisly details of his daughter’s murder. In anguish, Joseph’s mother responds that another killing cannot undo what has already been done.
After the hearing, Joseph’s family and the murder victims’ families wait for a verdict outside the courtroom. Helen introduces herself to the parents and they express their grief at never having seen their children since the fateful night. The appeal is turned down: Joseph will be executed.
Back in the visiting room, Helen tells Joe that an appeal has been made to the Governor. Angered by his selfishness, she urges him to acknowledge his guilt—to seek forgiveness—but he sees no hope and blames his brother for the murders. Suddenly, the warden appears and insists that Helen leave. Having had no time to eat, she becomes faint from hunger, stress and exhaustion. As she searches her purse for change for the vending machine, a jumble of conflicting voices clutter her mind. The warden tells her that the Governor has turned down their appeal: “Joseph de Rocher is a dead man.” The voices in her head grow louder. Helen faints.
Act II Joseph is counting push-ups when the warden comes to tell him that his execution has been set for August 4 at midnight. Alone in his cell, Joe voices feelings about his impending death, Sister Helen, and his murder victims.
Sister Helen awakens from a nightmare about Joe and the murdered teenagers. Rose comforts her and helps her to admit that she still has to find the strength within herself to forgive Joe, just as mothers forgive their children’s failings. On the night of Joe’s execution, Helen tells him about seeing Elvis Presley in person when she was a girl. Their shared love of Elvis opens a door between them and they are able to laugh as friends. She once more urges Joe to admit his guilt and find forgiveness.
Joe’s family comes to see him for the last time. After a tearful farewell with his mother and two younger brothers, Joe begs his mother to forgive him. She says she believes what Joseph has always told her: he is innocent and there is nothing to forgive. Mrs. De Rocher seeks comfort in her recollections of Joe’s innocent childhood. When Joe is led away, his mother falls apart, but Helen consoles her with assurances that there is good in her son and God’s love is not denied him. Left alone, Helen panics for a moment as she contemplates the harrowing task she faces that night.
The parents of the murder victims have arrived to witness the execution. They upbraid Helen for siding with the murderer, rejecting her words of consolation. Only Owen Hart voices doubts about the value of the execution. Helen offers him friendship and promises to visit him.
After the guards prepare Joseph for execution, Helen is alone with him one last time—in the precious moments that remain, she begs him to tell the truth. She reveals that she has visited the crime scene and asks him to relive that night. Reluctantly, Joseph tells her the whole story and, breaking down in sobs, admits his guilt. Helen assures him of forgiveness: not only hers, but God’s as well. She tells him she will be the face of love for him when he dies.
“Dead man walking,” declares the warden as he escorts Joseph to the execution chamber. Father Grenville intones the Lord’s Prayer, echoed by the voices of inmates, nuns, guards, and parents. Helen remains close to Joe, reading to him from the Bible. She is allowed to touch him, and she puts her hand on his back. When they reach the chamber, she is barred from going any further.
Joseph and Helen exchange an emotional good-bye. She reminds him to look for her as she takes her place among the others in the viewing room. After being strapped to the execution table, Joseph asks for the forgiveness of his victims’ parents. To the solitary sound of Joseph’s heartbeat, he receives the lethal injection. In his final moment, Joseph says to Sister Helen: “I love you.” After his death, the witnesses leave and Helen is alone with Joseph. One last time, she sings her hymn: “He will gather us around.”