COMMENTARY: Converted man walking

Some conversions take a lifetime. For the Rev. Carroll “Bud” Pickett, it took 95. Pickett, a Presbyterian minister, was the death house chaplain at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, where, from 1982 to 1995, he accompanied 95 inmates to their executions. He’s featured in a recent documentary, “At the Death House Door,” which tells […]

Some conversions take a lifetime. For the Rev. Carroll “Bud” Pickett, it took 95. Pickett, a Presbyterian minister, was the death house chaplain at the state penitentiary in Huntsville, Texas, where, from 1982 to 1995, he accompanied 95 inmates to their executions. He’s featured in a recent documentary, “At the Death House Door,” which tells the story of Pickett’s journey from staunch death-penalty supporter to passionate opponent. The film is a nuanced tale about the ambivalence that often walks hand-in-hand with faith. It is also a story of redemption and about hard-fought conversion.

(Cathleen Falsani is a columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times and author of “The God Factor: Inside the Spiritual Lives of Public People.”)


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