
“Are we the sum of our worst actions”, is the moral question that this riveting and thought-provoking documentary series examines.
Series 4 follows three crimes where the events and disturbing details are very different, except for the “Sword of Damocles” like threat of the death sentence hanging in the air like a dark ominous cloud. In each story we get to hear from the victim’s and convicted murderer’s families, as well as the condemned themselves. What becomes clear is that these terrible crimes have not only taken away lives literally, but have also damaged, and in some sense taken the meaning out of life for everyone connected to the perpetrator and victim.
The clock is ticking for the people on death row and has stopped for the victims’ families who now struggle to move on from the trauma that has destroyed their lives.
For some members of the victims’ families, it is the “finality” of the lethal injection that would for them be a “closure”, and that then they would find some peace. LIFE AND DEATH ROW shows that this wish can lead to unexpected emotions after witnessing the execution of a person by the state.

The first episode highlights this. Ivan Cantu has been on death row since 2001 for the double murder of his friend and his friend’s girlfriend. We see the 7-day countdown to his execution date where the hopes of clemency from the Texas supreme court and Governor begin to slip away. The gripping tension is interlaced with interviews with Cantu who has consistently proclaimed his innocence and his supporters that include a podcaster, religious councillor and death penalty opponents.
It is the brother of the murdered woman who is the most affecting as his tortured face tells the camera that the death of Cantu will bring him peace. The episode ends with the shattering confession from the bereaved brother that leaves you shaken and in no doubt about the futility of the death penalty.

Episode 2 is even more tragic and morally confusing. Cop killer Patrick McDowell is an army veteran who shot and killed a policeman in Florida after being stopped driving. We pick up the story after McDowell has already pleaded guilty and all that needs to be decided by the jury is whether he should get life without parole or the death sentence.
We follow the teenage son of the killer as he is about to testify for his father’s life, and we hear from his ex-commanding officer who testified to his good character. We also hear from the dead cop’s family and colleagues who explain how their lives have been devastated.
This is shown in front of MacDowell in open court and the remorse and shame on his face is painful to watch. For McDowell the fact that he was suffering from PTSD and drug addiction because of it, is no excuse. McDowell’s decision to address the jury himself makes for heartbreaking and unforgettable consequences.

MURDER ON THE RANCH, follows Ramiro Gonzales in the weeks leading up to his scheduled execution for the rape and murder of a teenage girl. He does not deny the crime, he asks for clemency because he was abused as a child and for the work he has done for 20 years on death row as a pastor.
This episode focuses on the mother of the murdered girl and her wish for Gonzales’s death as justice for her daughter and closure for herself. The first episode left you questioning whether the death penalty left anyone in peace but the mothers closing words made you re-evaluate your opinion.
This series is demanding viewing. It was impressive how the makers made the victim and their families central to the moral questions being asked, rather than the killers’ motives and back story.
Drug abuse and the access to deadly weapons were important factors in each crime and you wonder if the authorities should spend more resources tackling these issues rather than just enforcing the ultimate punishment.
I was left feeling that although the crimes committed were brutal and inhuman and deserves severe punishment, the death penalty was an inhuman practise itself.
Essential viewing.
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