The Execution Machine: Texas Death Row

This is a fairly run-of-the-mill documentary. A film crew visits death row in Texas where they speak to convicted murderers, prison staff, the families of victims, campaigners against the death penalty and for it.

Anti-death penalty campaigners make a lot of noise, but in 1996, the population of Texas was a shade over 19 million. In 1996, the State executed three men; in 1997, it executed 37 men including triple killer David Spence who appears in this documentary. In 1998, it executed 19 men and 1 woman. This isn't a large number; the real scandal is that they all linger on death row for years. Richard Brimage, the first execution of 1997, was convicted of murder in February 1988. There is absolutely no need for a convicted murderer duly sentenced to death to be kept alive more than a year, two at most, allowing for (mostly frivolous) appeals and due process.