Texas State Capitol Hosts Special Hearing on Death Penalty

In this, our trigger-happy state, it makes sense that At the Death House Door – an exploration of the death penalty through the eyes of Rev. Carroll Pickett, a former death-row chaplain, now an anti-death penalty advocate – will have its world premiere at SXSW. But the filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert (Hoop Dreams, Stevie) want to get you talking now.

To that end, they'll be hosting a special hearing on Wednesday, March 5, from 1pm to 2:45pm, at the Senate Hearing Room E1.016 at the Texas State Capitol. They'll be showing exclusive clips from the film (which premieres on the IFC Channel on May 29) and will be joined by Rev. Pickett, Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis, Chicago Tribune journalists Maurice Possley and Steve Mills (whose investigations into wrongful executions helped bring about the moratorium in Illinois), as well as other local and national anti-death penalty advocates.

The forum is free and open to the public.

And be sure to check out the Chronicle's print and web editions on Thursday for Clay Smith's interview with the filmmakers and Rev. Pickett.