Audience Member
Penetrating, insightful doc.
Rated 4.5/5 Stars •
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
02/27/23
Full Review
walter m
"At the Death House Door" is a haunting and incisive documentary about Carroll Pickett, a retired Presbyterian minister, and his long journey to becoming an anti-capital punishment activist, with him at one point linking the death penalty to racism.(It should be noted that he is not exactly a turn the other cheek kind of guy, either, as he advocates solitary confinement for the most heinous offenders.) Despite a couple of his parishioners being killed in a prison siege at Huntsville Prison in 1974, he agreed to become the prison chaplain, ministering to the prisoners' needs and, bless him, form a prison choir.
His mission was complicated when Texas started to institute the death penalty with lethal injection, which in one terrifying scene, has protocols that seemed to have been developed on the fly. Pickett's breaking point comes when Carlos De Luna, convicted for robbery and murder, is executed. For Pickett, De Luna is the first executed man whose innocence he completely believes in. In reality, he was probably not the first innocent person executed in Texas and certainly not the last.
While Pickett's story is a powerful one, De Luna's is introduced awkwardly into the larger chronology, thus limiting some of its impact. At the same time, including the Chicago journalists feels a little self-serving. And why are Texas death row inmates writing a Chicago journalist anyway?
In general, none of the participants should beat themselves up over past events as they did everything they could at the time. Plus, any activist has to realize that great change does not happen overnight. Just concentrate on changing one person's mind at a time and move on from that.
Rated 3.5/5 Stars •
Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars
03/31/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Soo good. It will make you think.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/30/23
Full Review
Audience Member
Carlos DeLuna is one of many men wrongfully executed. This documentary goes to show, from the perspective of a man that ministered 95 executions, that our system is broken. Who are we to say that a person must die for killing a person? What kind of statement is that sending? More importantly how is there not an uproar every time an innocent man dies. That innocent person could be any one of us.
On top of that, this film shows that like Carroll Pickett said, "I just wanted to let people know, that these are people," and as people many of them are good. He showed that with the choir he started.
In the end, something must be done. This film is one of many stories like this but was very well done, in my opinion. Whether you are for or against the death penalty I challenge you to watch it, for you will learn something. Now isn't that what life is all about, learning and growing?
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/24/23
Full Review
Audience Member
I make a sometimes-regrettable habit of watching documentaries about some of the most unpleasant things imaginable, which often leads to an emotional overload of sadness. I've seen a lot of tear-inducing stuff, but this was one of the most moving films I've seen so far. It focuses on two primary stories. The first is that of a minister named Carroll Pickett, who witnessed the murder of two of his congregation members during a hostage situation at the local prison at his hometown in Huntsville, Texas. Pickett later worked at the prison, preaching to inmates and doing positive work with them by forming a prisoners' choir. After awhile, the death penalty was re-legalized in Texas, and he was assigned to stay with the first condemned inmate for about 15 hours leading up to his execution. In great part due to the earlier murder of his congregation members, Pickett was a proponent of the death penalty, but as he served as minister for more than 80 executions, he wrestled with the morality of what he was doing.
The second storyline follows two investigative journalists - Maurice Possley and Steve Mills - from the Chicago Tribune, who are examining the case of Carlos de Luna, a man who was executed at the prison where Pickett worked. It becomes apparent early on that Carols was clearly not guilty of the murder of which he was accused, so the filmmakers smartly spend most of their time focusing on the reaction to that news from the reporters, his sister, and eventually Pickett.
The two story lines move separately, bouncing back and forth for about the first half of the film, and then gradually intersect toward the end. Pickett's wife left him due to his work, so he turned to cassette tapes to record his thoughts after every execution, some of which are used in the film. The final portion of the film focuses on Pickett's inspiring life after ceasing work at the prison, as well as Carlos' sister's anti-death penalty activism.
The film did not end where I expected it to, and I was surprised that it held my attention for its entire running length. Watching Pickett's face as he describes holding an inmate's hand while he died, hearing Carlos' last words to Pickett, "help me, Daddy" gave me a better understanding of the horrific details that go into supposedly humane executions by lethal injection. I don't think I'll soon forget this film.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
02/01/23
Full Review
Audience Member
This is why I do not believe in the death penalty. I have never met Chaplain Pickett, but I have more respect for that man than I can ever express. I hope that at least one person who reads this post will watch this film. If only one does it will be worth it.
As of Nov. 5th 2010, there have been 45 executions in the US. Since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, there have been1233 executions carried out. The Death penalty does not work.
Rated 5/5 Stars •
Rated 5 out of 5 stars
01/29/23
Full Review
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