You can use $SIG{__DIE__}. There are some "issues" with setting $SIG{__DIE__} when using eval, so be careful. You can read more here.

   local $SIG{__DIE__} = \&confess;
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If you'd rather override CORE::GLOBAL::die, you need to do so from a different package. Take a look at Overriding the Core die Function. This is from the mod_perl guide, but it should apply to your situation, as well.