PBS's Amanpour & Co.
February 28, 2024
LAWRENCE WRIGHT, EXECUTIVE PRODUCER OF GOD SAVE TEXAS: Well, the country is at an inflection point. I mean, we're marching into a very dangerous couple of months right ahead of us. And I'm not a prophet on this -- I can't tell you what's going to happen -- but America, the future of our country is going to be determined, I'm convinced, by the elections. And the thing that one can hope is, you know, this country is constantly changing. You know, when I was a kid, Texas was blue and California was red, you know. These things can change. And with Texas -- which is the future of America because it's growing so fast -- and by the year 2050 it's projected to be the size of New York and California combined. So it will be decisive in American politics.
But if you look at the demography, you know, it's a majority minority state. It is the most urban state in the nation. It's got four of the top 10 most populous cities. It is also a very young state. All of those are change agents and Democratic vectors. So things are going to change, and the Republicans in Texas have been scrambling to re-jigger the elections and, you know, continue to gerrymander the districts, Austin, where I live, the most liberal city in Texas, but it's got five congressmen -- four are Republicans. So that's what gerrymandering looks like in Texas.
(...)
AMANPOUR: Texas also has the dubious, you know, infamy of being the execution capital of the country and maybe even the world. In God Save Texas, there is another, you know, episode called "Hometown Prison," this is the well-known film maker, Richard Linklater. He returns to his hometown -- it's Huntsville. It's where the major, you know, the major execution prison is there. I've actually visited it. Here's what he said. Well, this is a little clip.
(beginning of clip)
RICHARD LINKLATER, GOD SAVE TEXAS: Even today, the criminal justice system looms over my hometown. It's not just people behind bars who are being pushed to the brink. It's state employees.
ED OWENS, FORMER DEPUTY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR OF TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: After the executions, this was a long walk.
MICHELLE LYONS, FORMER DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC INFORMATION FOR TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE: What I was witnessing really unnerved me.
FRED ALLEN, FORMER CAPTAIN OF CORRECTIONS HUNTSVILLE UNIT: And that's when I broke.
(end of clip)
AMANPOUR: You know, it's interesting, they are set to execute another person tonight, and it is actually interesting also to hear how this damages the soul of those who are doing the executing and part of that whole employee complex.
WRIGHT: Yeah, I was so moved by Rick's segment on our documentaries. You know, he approaches it so humanely. He's not -- he doesn't condemn the people -- he condemns the actions, you know, the way the prison system has turned into an industry, the way the death penalty lingers mainly because of politics.