Death Penalty
Prison Chaplain to Texas Death Row Inmates Profiled in Documentary
Posted May 28, 2008, 10:11 am CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
A new documentary profiles a Texas prison chaplain who witnessed 95 executions.
The Rev. Carroll Picket tells filmmakers he believes some of the men he counseled were innocent. His experiences led him to conclude the death penalty is not just or moral, the New York Times reports. He previously supported capital punishment, in part because of the murder of his own grandfather.
The movie focuses on Picket’s relationship with Carlos De Luna, who on the day of his 1989 execution asked if he could call Picket “Daddy.” Picket believed De Luna’s claim of innocence. Two reporters for the Chicago Tribune wrote a series of articles in 2006 suggesting he was wrongly convicted.
The documentary, At the Death House Door, will air Thursday evening on the Independent Film Channel.