"I used to think that America had the best court system in the world. But now I know differently." Sister Helen Prejean, author of the New York Times Bestseller Dead Man Walking and The Death of Innocents, spoke to and captivated a nearly full Spingold Theater Wednesday night. As a crusader for abolishing the death penalty, Sister Prejean has traveled the country, giving lectures and educating the masses on the tragedy that is our nation's capital punishment sentence. A perfect complement to Brandeis' commitment to social justice, last Wednesday's "Day of Innocence" was a day dedicated to the multiple horrors of the death penalty, with a particular focus on the issue of innocent men serving time on death row for crimes that they did not commit.

The day started with screenings of Dead Man Walking and the stunning documentary After Innocence, which focuses on wrongfully convicted individuals and their shocking battles with the legal system. As I sat there watching the film for the first time, I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness at the time these innocent men lost in prison. The main focus and ultimate thrill of the day's events, however, was the unbelievable lecture given by the renowned and very humorous nun.

"You can trust me, I'm a nun!" she quipped. Sister Prejean's thoroughly entertaining oratory captivated the audience for the entire hour or so she was on stage. Although many Brandeis students and faculty were present, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that outsiders, such as a group of Connecticut Amnesty International students, cared enough to attend. The large audience did not come to hear her discuss rubbing shoulders with Hollywood stars, like Tim Robbins and Susan Sarandon, but rather her close relationship with U.S. death row inmates, both the guilty and the innocent.

As a student in Prof. Pam Cytrynbaum's (AMST) new journalism class, "Investigating Justice," I've been reading and learning about more horrible miscarriages of justice in our judicial system than I would have dreamed possible. Despite this knowledge, I still found myself completely intrigued and incredibly touched by Sister Prejean's lecture.

Have death penalty supporters ever asked themselves if we are killing the wrong man? Sister Prejean implored the audience to ask such questions even of themselves, and to take the time to consider how it would feel to know that the wrong man was killed for another's crimes.

Having accompanied six men to execution, two of whom she believes were innocent, Sister Prejean has a rare and unique understanding of the death penalty in the United States. She spoke of this, and how unlikely it was that the majority of Americans would ever experience or comprehend it. She explained how when she initially sat down in 1982 and wrote to Patrick Sonnier, her first death row correspondent, she did so under the presumption that the U.S. legal system ("the best in the world") had provided this man with adequate counsel and a fair trial.

Regardless of his proven guilt, the fact that his partner-in-crime was sentenced to life in prison while Sonnier waited for execution intrigued Sister Prejean and lead her down the long road of deceit and horror that is the U.S. legal system.

Ranging from inadequate representation to police corruption, Sister Prejean's detailed examples of the legal system failing these men, regardless of their guilt or innocence, shocked the silent crowd. The thought of an innocent man spending even a day, let alone countless years in prison or on death row is a truly terrifying concept, particularly in a country that is known for its supposedly thorough and fair judicial system. Even more frightening are the methods that were used to put blameless individuals behind bars. From forced confessions to information intentionally withheld, Sister Prejean has witnessed or discovered it all in the police stations and courtrooms of this country.

While I have always been in strong opposition to the death penalty, Sister Prejean's lecture and Cytrynbaum's class have completely opened my eyes to the reality of our legal system. How can we justify taking the life of another human being, regardless of their guilt or innocence? The notion that innocent men, in today's age of incredible science and technology, are spending any time in prison-let alone death row-is completely absurd. The fact that some of these men have been wrongfully executed is a tragedy-one that cannot be allowed to continue. Regardless of whatever pros one can think of, capital punishment is absolutely not worth the risk it presents of getting it wrong. Anyone arrested for a crime should have the minor comfort of knowing that they will receive a fair trial, and if wrongly convicted, will not have an impending execution awaiting them.