<Tr> <Td> </Td> <Td> This article includes a list of references, but its sources remain unclear because it has insufficient inline citations . Please help to improve this article by introducing more precise citations . (September 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this template message) </Td> </Tr> <P> Robert Lee Willie (January 2, 1958--December 28, 1984) was a Louisiana man who was convicted for the May 28, 1980 kidnap, rape, and murder of 18 - year - old Faith Hathaway . He was sentenced to death and held on Death Row at Louisiana State Penitentiary prior to his execution in an electric chair . </P> <P> Sister Helen Prejean, a teacher and one of the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Medaille from New Orleans, began to write to him and later served as his spiritual adviser . In her book Dead Man Walking (1993), she explored her experiences with men on Death Row and the basis for her growing opposition to the death penalty . The book was adapted as a 1995 film of the same name, starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn . The book was also adapted as an opera, first produced by the San Francisco Opera in 2000 . </P> <P> Willie and Joseph Vaccaro picked up Faith Hathaway, who was walking home after celebrating with friends the night before she was to enter the U.S. Army . They drove her to a remote area, raped her, and stabbed her to death . They left her body at Frickes Cave, a borrow pit, south of the parish seat Franklinton, Louisiana, along Highway 25 and near the Bogue Chitto River . </P>

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