Murderer. He and his brother, Eddie James Sonnier, were arrested on December 5, 1977, for the murder of teenagers David LeBlanc and Loretta Ann Bourque. Sonnier and his brother Eddie were later convicted and sentenced to death by the state of Louisiana at first, but after their first appeal, their death sentence was reversed due to mishaps. At their sentencing hearing, Eddie Sonnier recanted his testimony by saying that he himself did the crimes instead of his brother Elmo Patrick, but despite Eddie's pleas for mercy, Elmo Sonnier was once again sentenced to death while his brother Eddie was sentenced to life in prison. During his time on death row in 1981, Elmo Sonnier wrote a letter to Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and anti-death penalty activist, inviting her to visit him at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Prejean became his spiritual advisor for many months until his execution by the electric chair; he was not yet 35 years old. Sonnier was given a dignified funeral on the day after his execution. Along with executed inmate Robert Lee Willie, he is memorialized in Prejean's 1993 memoir "Dead Man Walking"; the memoir was made into a 1995 motion picture in which Sonnier and Willie became the basis for Sean Penn's character Matthew Poncelet.
Murderer. He and his brother, Eddie James Sonnier, were arrested on December 5, 1977, for the murder of teenagers David LeBlanc and Loretta Ann Bourque. Sonnier and his brother Eddie were later convicted and sentenced to death by the state of Louisiana at first, but after their first appeal, their death sentence was reversed due to mishaps. At their sentencing hearing, Eddie Sonnier recanted his testimony by saying that he himself did the crimes instead of his brother Elmo Patrick, but despite Eddie's pleas for mercy, Elmo Sonnier was once again sentenced to death while his brother Eddie was sentenced to life in prison. During his time on death row in 1981, Elmo Sonnier wrote a letter to Sister Helen Prejean, a Roman Catholic nun and anti-death penalty activist, inviting her to visit him at Louisiana State Penitentiary. Prejean became his spiritual advisor for many months until his execution by the electric chair; he was not yet 35 years old. Sonnier was given a dignified funeral on the day after his execution. Along with executed inmate Robert Lee Willie, he is memorialized in Prejean's 1993 memoir "Dead Man Walking"; the memoir was made into a 1995 motion picture in which Sonnier and Willie became the basis for Sean Penn's character Matthew Poncelet.
Bio by: Debbie Kearns
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See more Sonnier memorials in:
Records on Ancestry
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