At the Death House Door
Encyclopedia
At the Death House Door is a 2008 documentary film
about Carroll Pickett
, who served as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville
, Texas
. It was produced and directed by the team of Steve James
and Peter Gilbert
. They had previously worked together on the well-received Kartemquin Films
documentary Hoop Dreams
, on which James was the producer and director and Gilbert served as producer and director of photography. The film was produced by Kartemquin Films
in association with the Chicago Tribune
, which provided partial funding.
. He kept his feelings about his work from his family, instead audiotaping an account of each one. Initially pro-execution, he became an anti-death penalty activist.
Pickett was most affected by the execution of Carlos De Luna in 1989. He firmly believed in De Luna's innocence. In 2006, Chicago Tribune
reporters Maurice Possley and Steve Mills published a detailed investigation suggesting that another man had committed the crime for which De Luna was executed, and the film recounts the evidence brought forth in that investigation.
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...
about Carroll Pickett
Carroll Pickett
Reverend Carroll L. "Bud" Pickett is a Presbyterian minister in Huntsville, Texas. In the 1960s and 1970s, Rev. Pickett served as pastor for three churches in Texas. In 1980 he began serving as a chaplain in the Huntsville, Texas, prison, where he spent most of the next 15 years working with...
, who served as the death house chaplain to the infamous "Walls" prison unit in Huntsville
Huntsville, Texas
Huntsville is a city in and the county seat of Walker County, Texas, United States. The population was 35,508 at the 2010 census. It is the center of the Huntsville micropolitan area....
, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. It was produced and directed by the team of Steve James
Steve James (producer)
Steve James is an American film producer and director of several documentaries, including the award-winning Hoop Dreams and Stevie. He is also the director of the 1997 feature film Prefontaine...
and Peter Gilbert
Peter Gilbert
Eric Peter Gilbert , known as Peter Gilbert, is an English-born Wales Under-21 international footballer who plays as a defender for League Two club Southend United...
. They had previously worked together on the well-received Kartemquin Films
Kartemquin Films
Kartemquin Films is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1966 by Gordon Quinn, Jerry Temaner and Stan Karter, three University of Chicago graduates who wanted to make documentary films guided by their principle of "Cinematic Social Inquiry." They were soon joined by Jerry Blumenthal...
documentary Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams
Hoop Dreams is a 1994 documentary film directed by Steve James, with Kartemquin Films. It follows the story of two African-American high school students in Chicago and their dream of becoming professional basketball players....
, on which James was the producer and director and Gilbert served as producer and director of photography. The film was produced by Kartemquin Films
Kartemquin Films
Kartemquin Films is a not-for-profit organization that was founded in 1966 by Gordon Quinn, Jerry Temaner and Stan Karter, three University of Chicago graduates who wanted to make documentary films guided by their principle of "Cinematic Social Inquiry." They were soon joined by Jerry Blumenthal...
in association with the Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
, which provided partial funding.
Synopsis
Pickett presided over 95 executions in his 15 year career, including the very first by lethal injectionLethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
. He kept his feelings about his work from his family, instead audiotaping an account of each one. Initially pro-execution, he became an anti-death penalty activist.
Pickett was most affected by the execution of Carlos De Luna in 1989. He firmly believed in De Luna's innocence. In 2006, Chicago Tribune
Chicago Tribune
The Chicago Tribune is a major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, and the flagship publication of the Tribune Company. Formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" , it remains the most read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region and is...
reporters Maurice Possley and Steve Mills published a detailed investigation suggesting that another man had committed the crime for which De Luna was executed, and the film recounts the evidence brought forth in that investigation.
External links
- Movie Trailer IFC.com
- Film Review Hollywood Reporter
- Well Executed? A Haunting New Documentary Examines the Real-World Implications of Capital Punishment Failure Magazine