On Death Row

I enjoy Mr. Herzog's body of work, and never expected to hear his fascinating voice on ID Channel, but "On Death Row" is being aired there, and I caught two episodes this morning, and all I can say is how edifying they were. Unfortunately, Herzog accomplished the exact opposite of his intention. He's an honest man, and he admits up front he's opposed to capital punishment. Good for him. Unlike a lot of anti-death penalty fanatics, he doesn't descend to calling the people who have the unenviable job of carrying out executions "depraved", worse than serial killers, doing it "for the money", and all sorts of such silly tripe. He doesn't make ridiculous assertions like "waiting 17 years to be executed" is reparation enough for taking another's life forever. He lets the murderers speak in their own words, offers no obvious judgments, and attempts to be impartial, not always successfully. But he tries. He offers no excuses for the evil in these people. When Darlie Routier, who hacked her 5 and 6 year old sons to death, whines about how she hasn't been able to hug her sons in 16 years, the obvious answer to her complaint needs no explanation. And Herzog respects us enough not to supply one. When a man who beat his 13 month (!) old daughter to death with a hammer, breaking 18 ribs, and causing multiple skull fractures (not to mention biting her in over 20 places on her little body, hard enough to leave tooth impressions), is asked why he did it, his reply is ,"Why? I don't know why it happened". Herzog doesn't need to continue with, "It happened? Like it happened that she died in her sleep or something?" I've been in favor of the death penalty in extreme cases, and only when proof of guilt is undeniable. And Mr. Herzog's series has strengthened me in that belief.

While watching this documentary, I could tell that the viewer was meant to feel sympathy for these convicted murderers, but it just didn't happen for me. Everything they said, everything they were asked... I just found myself growing more and more angry with them and with the notion that I SHOULD feel any kind of sympathy for them based on what they were saying.

One of them mentioned not being able to hug his little girl. That's sad. Unfortunately, his victims' parents will never be able to hug, see or speak to their children again. That's sadder.

Someone said that he hadn't seen his wife in two years. That's a real shame. Unfortunately, his victims will never be able to find a partner and get married in the first place. That's an even bigger shame.

We also hear from a family member who is saddened that she can't spend holidays with her incarcerated loved one. I feel for her there. Unfortunately, the victims' families are no longer able to do anything at any time with their murdered loved one. I feel for them more.

One fellow talks about making his peace with God before the date of his execution and how finite life feels when you know what date your life will end. That's profound, but I somehow doubt he cared if his victims had made their peace with God before he brought about their unexpected and violent ends.

We also are told about how another inmate at one of the prisons was given his lethal injection improperly, which apparently caused some discomfort for him. How terrible. Maybe he should have been given the option of having his life ended the way he ended his victims' lives? Although I doubt that would be more pleasant than an improperly placed syringe.

As icing on the cake, we hear from a fellow that a prior altercation with his victim had been "very humiliating" for him. Words fail me here. Am I supposed to feel pity for him? Sympathy? I only feel rage.

Ultimately, every part I have seen of this documentary has turned my stomach completely. If that was the goal of the film-maker, then his mission was accomplished... but I have the feeling that his goal was to make me feel sympathy for these complete monsters who, in my opinion, should be grateful for the life they still have (as opposed to the lack of life they've inflicted on their victims).

Anyone with a 1980s camcorder and a pentium 3 laptop with PowerPoint could make a better documentary. Boring as crap, lots of "filler" footage that has no relevance, lots of stupid pointless discussions about nonsense. This Herzog guy made one TERRIBLE and unbearable miniseries in this one. I genuinely regret watching this garbage. The worst parts are seeing/hearing the same nonsense clips over and over and over each episode. He also CLEARLY tries to act slick in how he tries to sway the viewers opinions. If I had to sum up this in one word, I wouldn't be able to choose between "pathetic" or "trash"

It is educational to watch for people who are interested in true crime. Well made, but the agenda is hard to swallow. The pretension in the title narrative is a little ridiculous , "as a German coming from a different background", come on Werner, your country has no room to judge. I know this is supposed to make people not want capital punishment but watching this made me feel the opposite. Why not show the victims families and let's hear them cry? Or the people that suffered at the hands of these sociopaths. We should be able to hear both sides of the story. The interviewees lying and manipulating is transparent. Self-serving stories that are mostly beyond any logic. Plus alot are smug and laughing and joking, almost bragging in a way. Listen to George Rivas smug attitude about the crimes he committed in episode 3. One person in episode 3 we were supposed to sympathize with because he was just there tying up hostages when the murder happened. Really? You were involved in felony crime after escaping prison where an innocent police officer was killed on Christmas Eve and your only excuse is " I didn't shoot him". You had no choice but to escape because you had 18 life sentences? What's that 3 years with parole ? Episode 4 a man that murdered a woman and stabbed two young boys to death. He was too drunk or high to remember as an excuse. The most simple explanations to all these is usually the correct one. They are murders and committed these various crimes, the only reason they feel sorry is they got caught and are going to pay. These are last ditch efforts to play on soft and privileged people's sympathies. I say privileged because most people have not had to live with the actions of these people or been preyed upon by predators, I imagine if they did they would have a different opinion. It's really offensive to victims families and comes from a point of view of people who have never suffered being the victims of crimes. Very little real remorse from these criminals, it's mostly non existent but occasionally an attempt is made to fake it. I am sorry, but.....me,me,me. Better to watch some of the true crime shows that show both sides, hear from the victim's families then decide the death penalty isn't warranted. Try telling it to the mother and father of a murdered child. You can always drum up exceptions to anything if you dig, but by and large they mostly deserve exactly what they get.

I watched this series on Netflix which showed 4 episodes. Every episode featured on Netflix was complex, thought provoking, and well done. I later learned there were 3 more episodes which I watched on youtube.

It is an interesting series that is not easy to watch. Herzog shows the viewer that these monsters who have committed horrific crimes are still human beings. Some actually show some insight into their choices and how it resulted in their current fate. Most do not, and this can be frustrating. Several proclaim their innocence.

The great strengths of this series are (1) Herzog's ability to let each interviewee to speak without being guided or biased, (2) the balanced presentation of crime, victim and inmate and (3) an unsympathetic view of execution.

I will admit I am conflicted regarding capital punishment. I believe many of these vicious animals deserve to die. But I acknowledge it is a flawed system that is racially and financially biased.