"At the Death House Door"
"At the Death House Door"
#1"At the Death House Door"
Posted: 8/4/08 at 11:59am
Last night I saw the documentary film "At the Death House Door" about Rev. Carroll Pickett who served 15 years as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville, Texas. He presided over 95 executions, including the world’s first lethal injection, and, after each execution, Pickett recorded an audiotape account of his trip to the death chamber. Rev. Pickett was at last night's screening.
It is a remarkable story about a man whose ideas about the death penalty were changed by his experiences, and his belief that at least 15 of the people he counseled and prayed with in the death house were innocent. The film also focuses on one of those men, Carlos De Luna.
The film was shown on IFC and is being screened around country at various events. I am told that it also is available on iTunes in the television section. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend watching this powerful and moving story.
"I am open, and I am willing,
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us,
So lift me up to the light of change."
Holly Near
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