jmcd7910 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.

orangeisthenewawesome 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.

evening1 I can think of no better guide through the bizarre world of capital punishment than this film's director, Werner Herzog.I've seen two other segments in this fascinating series and both were superbly done. This one, on Linda Carty, seems the weakest of the three.It centers on a horrific case, but Carty is neither interesting nor sympathetic. She is inarticulate on her own behalf and Herzog's questioning of her is uncharacteristically lame.The star of this segment is Connie Spence, an assistant district attorney who bears an uncanny resemblance in appearance and demeanor to Laura Bush. She sensitively speaks to the ability of Herzog to channel sympathy in the direction of a caged killer while the sufferings of the victim may fade from memory.Herzog also interviews a lawyer whose firm has done $2 million in pro bono work in hopes of getting Carty a new trial because her defense attorney failed to speak to Carty's DEA handler. This handler supposedly would have testified that Carty, who had served as one of his informants, was not the kind of person would would have hurt anyone.The lawyer states that if the jury had heard such statements it never would have given Carty the death penalty. Given the sordid facts of this case, I question that...----------"James Barnes"I just had an opportunity to view the segment on multiple killer Barnes. It was interesting, but, again, I feel Herzog could have done more here. The interviewer succeeds in bringing out the oddness of Barnes but fails to ask questions that are begged. For example, why on earth did Barnes leave all his clothing outside of Brenda's home? What was going on in his head as he lay in wait in her closet as she did chores and watched TV?Barnes grew up in an abusive home and it's implied that he sexually abused his twin sister. He hurt animals and his rap sheet was long. What could have been done to prevent his horrors? I believe if Herzog had asked this question to Barnes and others in this segment it would have been a much stronger entry in the series. Wake up, my man Werner!

lattar1 I watched the three episodes of this series only days after watching 'Into the Abyss'. While I found the full length feature documentary slightly boring and even more disappointing, the same can not be said about 'Death Row'.Herzog, the creator of this series, does not go on a rampage to prove somebody's innocence, nor does he advocate loudly his opinion about capital punishment. Instead he creates an opportunity to the viewer to get to know the person condemned to die. The emphasis is not about what is right and wrong, or who did what. Its about the person in death row, as well as other human aspects involved. Proper weight is given to the case's individual details, and at least my curiosity about the evidence and what occurred in the crimes was satisfied.I strongly recommend this series to people that find the theme at least mildly interesting. This series is politically some what neutral in spite of Herzog opposing capital punishment. I found some of the subjects - not all - likable, and felt strong compassion for them. This is a special mini-series and I'm very glad I watched it, even though I was disappointed by 'Into the Abyss'.