At the Death House Door

Chaplain Carroll J. Pickett is still surprised by the change of direction his life took. From 1982 to 1995, he stood by almost 100 death row inmates during their executions. When he first started preaching in prison, he didn't know that counselling people who were sentenced to die fell under his job description. All the same, he was quickly summoned to lead a convict to the death chamber. Pickett was scared to death as well: "I don't know anyone who volunteers to die." This caretaker of souls struggled with his assignment. After all, was he there to serve God or the state? After every execution, he made tapes of his experiences. "Some criminals confessed, others didn't. And some were sentenced to death even though they were innocent." Now that Pickett is retired, he spends a lot of time looking back on those complicated years, and the case of the possibly innocent Carlos De Luna keeps him especially occupied. De Luna's case is also being investigated by the editorial office of the \i Chicago Tribune\i0 , and De Luna's sister is at it as well, hoping to clear the name of her brother who died by lethal injection. By means of interviews, mug shots and old news footage, the filmmakers paint a portrait of Picket and denounce capital punishment in the process.