Visiting death row for the first time: “It was the most surreal experience of my life.”

        Writing the book: “I realized I was a witness. I had to be a storyteller. I resisted doing a book. I began to write op-ed pieces and magazine articles. But it was only after I had a contract in my hand from Random House did I feel I had the mandate to write the book.”

Sister Helen

        Editor Jason Epstein's advice: “I always had to hold before me the horror of the crime and the horror of what the state was going to do. If I collapsed it in any way, it was going to fail.”

        How the movie came about: “Susan Sarandon called me up; she had read the book. She convinced director Tim Robbins to read it. Every Hollywood company turned it down, except Polygram.”

        Having Susan Sarandon portray you on the big screen: “It doesn't mean a whit to me.”

        The opera: “The opera is one more powerful way of telling the story, and opening up another niche in the opera world, where you can have the fullness of drama and fullness of music.”

        Death behind closed doors: “Capital punishment will never be shown on TV or the Internet. There's a reason why it's so secretive, behind closed doors with a small, select audience. What we do have is the arts — film, opera. That's the only way to get close to this.”

        Justice: “That can be a euphemism for just pure vengeance.”

        Politicians: “I think they're scared of me.”

        Racism and the death penalty: “Racism feeds it from square one. Who got killed, who cares, who's the judge, who's the District Attorney? So racism is in it, poverty is in it, and what kind of defense they get.”

        The Oklahoma City bombing: “The ultimate of human tragedy and suffering. I was with some of the victims' families to talk about healing. A man said, "My daughter was killed in that bombing, and let's not use that word closure any more. With God's grace, we're moving on. But every day of my life, I'm going to be thinking of my daughter and the way she died, and I couldn't be there to protect her.' ”

        Timothy McVeigh: “He (saw) himself as a martyr. Only 25 percent of the parents wanted to see his execution on closed-circuit TV. They knew that whatever happened to Timothy McVeigh had nothing to do with the journey they had to make.”

        Victims' families: “They are already in such pain, that you want to tell them anything to alleviate it. Sometimes you know that you're the displacement of that anger, because they've got to be angry at somebody.”

        (She is an honorary member of Murder Victims' Families for Reconciliation, a national organization of victims' family members who oppose the death penalty.)

        Quoting the Bible to justify the death penalty: “There is ample room. They had 37 different crimes in the Old Testament for which you could get death: adultery, touching sacred objects in the Temple, sassing a priest or your parents, having sex with an animal — and the animal got it, too. "An eye for an eye' is really a restraining — to restrain vengeance. Because someone in one village would kill a person, and they'd go wipe out another whole village.”

        Terrorists: “If anybody deserves the death penalty, they do. They killed 3,000 people. Then you start your reflection. Amnesty International has documented, when you execute a terrorist, you spawn more acts of terrorism. Terrorists impose the death penalty on themselves: They're willing to die.”

        Courage: “Hemingway called courage 'Grace under pressure.' John Wayne said, 'Courage is where you're scared but you saddle up anyway.' It's drawn from you.”

        The American people: “I've gotten to meet the American people more than any politician who has run for national office. I've been in universities, churches, civic clubs. People are good and decent people. My greatest hope is the people.”

        A death penalty alternative: “The alternative is in place: Life without parole.”

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