Death Row: The Final Minutes

‘You want to know how long it takes someone to die by lethal injection in Texas? Start singing Silent Night and when you get to ‘Mother and Child’… well, that’s how long it takes. I know this because I saw it happen once.’ Larry FitzgeraldOver a period of 17 years, Larry Fitzgerald and Michelle Lyons between them witnessed almost 500 executions.As public relations officers for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Larry and Michelle were regularly sent to Huntsville Prison to record death-row inmates’ final actions before being taken to the death chamber.When they first started out, both of them had an unwavering belief in the death penalty’s role as an effective deterrent against crime, but over the years doubt began to creep into their thoughts. Over the course of their time there, Larry and Michelle would each form deep bonds with the condemned men and women there and would question why so many, who had reformed in their time in the prison, were still being put to death.An incredibly powerful and unique look at the complex story of capital punishment, as told through those whose lives have been shaped by it, Death Row is an important take on crime and justice at a fascinating point in America’s political history.