But now I look at him. I'm not sure how to measure his sincerity. I see the young people getting down on their knees and lying down in the cold wet grass. Even if he didn't do the shooting, he participated in the kidnappings – not just this couple. There had been others.
The silence is heavy. And then he says with anger in his eyes, "I didn't rape Loretta. I never touched her."
He had confessed to the murders, he tells me, because it was their plan, his and Eddie's – each would say he did it and the authorities wouldn't know who had done it, and he was afraid of the police.
Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean, page 39
The silence is heavy. And then he says with anger in his eyes, "I didn't rape Loretta. I never touched her."
He had confessed to the murders, he tells me, because it was their plan, his and Eddie's – each would say he did it and the authorities wouldn't know who had done it, and he was afraid of the police.
Dead Man Walking by Sister Helen Prejean, page 39
In the beginning of the book, Patrick Sonnier denies complete responsibility for the rape and murder of Loretta. He accepts some form of responsibility for what happened even though he claimed not to of killed those teenagers. He does not press his innocence yet he does not claim complete guilt, or telling the complete truth. For this reason he is in the denial phase of grief. For Patrick, taking responsibility for his crime is the first step to atonement, and it takes him a while to completely confess his role in the crime to Sister Helen. It is at this point, he takes full responsibility of this actions, regardless of the circumstances he was placed in.