Overview

Capital punishment is a subject that evokes passion from friends and foes alike. But, few consider the effect it has on those whose actual job is to terminate a life—the executioners themselves. Delving deeply into the spiritual, psychological, and philosophical dichotomies within and surrounding capital punishment, director Patty Dillon portrays an emotional journey inside execution through firsthand accounts. From a man of God to men trained to protect lives suddenly required to take them, paths intersect as they discover freedom from their own personal prisons. And, although we tend not to humanize executioners, these men reveal to us emotional conflicts and scars related to a job they never sought, but now accept. We not only glimpse inside prison walls, but also inside the heads of complex men who can't help but question the meaning of life in a way that few of us can even fathom. - Sandy Wolf