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Schuster event addresses the morality of the death penalty
by Nashrah Rahman
Editorial assistant
News | 9/23/08
Posted online at 5:11 AM EST on 9/23/08
/ Last updated at 3:25 AM EST on 9/23/08
Maurice Possley, a Pulitzer Prize-winning criminal justice reporter, and Reverend Carroll Pickett, a retired death house chaplain, spoke about the injustice of the death penalty in the criminal system following a screening of the documentary At the Death House Door in an event hosted by the Schuster Institute for Investigative Journalism's Justice Brandeis Innocence Project last Thursday.
Founding Director of the Schuster Institute Florence Graves said the purpose of the event was to address the death penalty row, the existence of which deprives wrongly convicted criminals of the opportunity to be declared innocent. She explained that the Institute's main aim is to help the wrongly convicted "appeal for a new trial." The event focused on Carlos Deluna's case, originating in Texas, a "national leader" in carrying out executions by lethal injection according to an article published in The Houston Chronicle last February.
At the Death House Door by filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, provided a visual argument against the death penalty. The film chronicles the career journey of death house chaplain of 15 years Rev. Carroll Pickett, who initially believed in the death penalty after the murders of two of his parishioners.
The documentary shows how Pickett's experiences at the Huntsville prison in Texas gradually change his mind about the death penalty. Over the years, Pickett oversaw over 95 executions, including the world's first lethal injection, and still he is able to recall each time clearly due to his collection of recordings that chronicle the last days of the inmates. The case of Carlos Deluna affected Pickett the most. Deluna was convicted in 1983 for the murder of gas station clerk Wanda Lopez and denied clemency in 1989 despite the weak evidence against him and the strong possibility that a look-alike, Carlos Hernandez, had committed the crime.
The reverend was convinced of Deluna's innocence through his interactions with the convict. He was, however, unable to be anything but a witness at the execution. Since then, Pickett has firmly opposed the death penalty. Pickett never specified whether he believed in the death penalty in cases where it is certain that that person has been rightly convicted.
Founding Director of the Schuster Institute Florence Graves said the purpose of the event was to address the death penalty row, the existence of which deprives wrongly convicted criminals of the opportunity to be declared innocent. She explained that the Institute's main aim is to help the wrongly convicted "appeal for a new trial." The event focused on Carlos Deluna's case, originating in Texas, a "national leader" in carrying out executions by lethal injection according to an article published in The Houston Chronicle last February.
At the Death House Door by filmmakers Steve James and Peter Gilbert, provided a visual argument against the death penalty. The film chronicles the career journey of death house chaplain of 15 years Rev. Carroll Pickett, who initially believed in the death penalty after the murders of two of his parishioners.
The documentary shows how Pickett's experiences at the Huntsville prison in Texas gradually change his mind about the death penalty. Over the years, Pickett oversaw over 95 executions, including the world's first lethal injection, and still he is able to recall each time clearly due to his collection of recordings that chronicle the last days of the inmates. The case of Carlos Deluna affected Pickett the most. Deluna was convicted in 1983 for the murder of gas station clerk Wanda Lopez and denied clemency in 1989 despite the weak evidence against him and the strong possibility that a look-alike, Carlos Hernandez, had committed the crime.
The reverend was convinced of Deluna's innocence through his interactions with the convict. He was, however, unable to be anything but a witness at the execution. Since then, Pickett has firmly opposed the death penalty. Pickett never specified whether he believed in the death penalty in cases where it is certain that that person has been rightly convicted.
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vernon koenig
posted 9/23/08 @ 12:26 PM EST
The biggest problem with our justice system has to do with the false premise of being 'presumed innocent' until 'proven guilty' which is one of the greatest frauds ever perpetuated by our legal system. (Continued…)
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