Robina Courtin grew up in Melbourne, Australia. As a teenager attending Catholic school she felt she was both holy and a rebel. Eventually she became a hippie, then a radical feminist, and then got into marital arts. One day, after a car accident meant she couldn't practice karate, she came across some Buddhist monks. Immediately she knew following Buddhism would be her path. Many years after she was ordained a Buddhist nun, she got an unexpected letter from a prisoner in the US. That led to her corresponding with other inmates and even befriending people on death row.

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Presenter: Emily Webb
Producer: Saskia Edwards

Picture: Robina Courtin in 2005
Credit: Fairfax Media via Getty Images