Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun who wrote the Pulitzer Prize-winning "Dead Man Walking," which became a movie, now travels throughout the United States and beyond as an advocate for abolishing the death penalty.
Her experiences led to a second book called "The Death of Innocents: An Eyewitness Account of Wrongful Executions."
Prejean, 69, said she enjoyed reading short fiction and poetry as a child.
"The first book I read on my own was 'Heidi,"' said Prejean, a Louisiana native. "I couldn't believe they ate all that goat cheese."
Her favorite book of all time? "Jane Eyre," by Charlotte Bronte.
She loves to read and spends most of her time reading nonfiction — quantum physics and literature about the radical Jesus.
Right now, she is reading "The Great Turning: From Empire to Earth Community," by David C. Korten.
The book is about how societies are organized for the fortunate few and create misery for the masses. Prejean, who continues to befriend people before they are executed, believes that socio-economics plays into the death penalty.
Most people on death row are poor people who murdered whites, she said.