At the Death House Door

For 15 years, Carroll Pickett served as chaplain to 95 death row inmates in Huntsville, Texas. To cope with his role, he kept extensive audio journals about the men he accompanied to their final moments, believing that "no man should die alone without a friend." These recordings provide chilling and emotional insight into an act very few will ever experience. One of the men executed, Carlos De Luna, affected Pickett more than any other. Teaming up with two Chicago Tribune investigative reporters, Pickett turned up evidence that De Luna's conviction and execution may have been a deadly mistake. The details create a compelling case for De Luna's innocence, while the bigger issues around capital punishment and its morality come into focus. As he fights for justice to clear his conscience, the retired chaplain's struggles with faith become a profile of compassion and conversion. (Hot Docs Canadian International Documentary Festival)