A Special Hearing on Capital Punishment: Perspectives at the Death House Door

On March 5th, 2008, at the Texas State Capitol in Austin, a team of legal experts, elected officials and religious leaders met to discuss current issues surrounding the death penalty, including: lethal injection, criminal justice, wrongful conviction, and the role of religion/values in executions.

Each discussion was introduced by a clip of IFC's new documentary "At the Death House Door", which premiered at the SXSW Film Festival. The film tells the story of Carroll Pickett, the Chaplain for the Texas Department of Corrections from 1982-1995 who counseled 95 inmates executed by lethal injection. The hearing was presented by the Independent Film Channel and the Capital Punishment Center at the University of Texas School of Law.

The panelists included: Rodney Ellis – Texas State Senator; Craig Watkins – Dallas County District Attorney; Carroll Pickett – Texas Death Row chaplain, featured in "At The Death House Door"; Steve James & Peter Gilbert – Award winning filmmakers, Kartemquin Films; Maurice Possley & Steve Mills – Award winning Chicago Tribune journalists; Ginger Anders – Co-counsel in Supreme Court case addressing the legality of lethal injection; David Oshinsky – Pulitzer-Prize winning author and UT Professor; Rob Owen – Clinical Professor, UT School of Law; and Paula Kurland – The Constitution Project /Death Penalty Initiative.

Download audio podcast of the hearing (approx RT 2:00)>>

Download transcript of the hearing (PDF)>>

Watch clips from the film that were shown in the hearing >>

Watch the trailer for the film >>