Ordinarily I edit out the the sound of a phone ringing during an interview, but there was something about the way Werner Herzog responded to it when it happened during our talk on November 5, 2011, that it seemed wrong not to include it.  The film we were discussing was his documentary, INTO THE ABYSS, his consideration of the effect of three senseless murders had on those involved, most chillingly, on the convicted murderer who was executed eight days after being filmed by Herzog. The other convicted murderer got a life sentence, and what I termed the randomness (Herzog disagreed) of the sentencing became a jumping off point for his explanation about why he isn't comfortable speaking directly about the criminal justice system in the United States. He was, however, forthcoming in his praise of the papal condemnation of "The Culture of Death", and why he feels that everyone, including people he might not personally like, deserves respect.