Death Row Stories

François Picard
  • 5.0 (6)
  • Documentary

Welcome to Death Row Stories, a podcast dedicated to exploring the complex and often harrowing world of the death penalty in the United States. I’m François Picard, a journalist and documentary director with over 20 years of experience. Throughout my career, the most impactful reports I produced were those about death row. In this podcast, I shed light on the human stories behind the death penalty, offering firsthand accounts and in-depth analysis. Join me as we uncover the realities behind these 2 words. Discover our stories on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories

  1. I Visited Europe’s Execution Sites to Understand America’s Death Penalty

    3d ago

    I Visited Europe’s Execution Sites to Understand America’s Death Penalty

    What do medieval witch hunts, public guillotines, and America's death penalty have in common? More than you might think.In this episode of Death Row Stories, I leave the United States and travel across France in search of places where people were once executed.The death penalty did not originate in America. It was inherited from Europe, where executions were part of everyday life for centuries. Today, the practice has disappeared across the European Union, but traces of that history remain hidden in villages, city squares, bridges, and battlefields.Along the way, I uncover stories that few people remember today:• People drowned in cages from a medieval torture bridge• Women and children accused of witchcraft and sentenced to death• A public guillotine execution that attracted 10,000 spectators• A French soldier executed by his own army during World War I• A young civilian shot by German troops just days before liberationThese stories took place in different centuries, under different governments, and for very different reasons. Yet together they reveal how execution became embedded in European society long before the first colonies were established in North America.For viewers interested in America's death penalty, this journey offers a rare look at the historical roots of a punishment that still exists in parts of the United States today.Join me as I travel through forgotten execution sites and explore how Europe remembers, or sometimes forgets, those who were put to death.Locations featured in this episode:📍 Strasbourg (Torture Bridge)📍 Munster (witch trials)📍 Belfort (public guillotine execution)📍 Sillery (World War I execution)📍 La Londe-les-Maures (World War II execution)Death Row Stories explores the history, reality, and human stories behind the death penalty in America and around the world.#DeathPenalty #DeathRowStories #CapitalPunishment #History #TrueCrime #France #Europe #Documentary #AmericanHistory #Justice #TravelDocumentary #DeathRow #Texas #ExecutionHistorySubscribeSubscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.Discover our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-StoriesEmail me at: cultureaventure@gmail.com

    18 min
  2. Texas 600th Execution: Inside the Fight Over Intellectual Disability Part - 2

    May 18

    Texas 600th Execution: Inside the Fight Over Intellectual Disability Part - 2

    On May 14 2026, Death Row Stories takes you inside a race against time as Texas prepares for what could become its 600th execution since 1976. From an early morning abolitionist press conference to a long, uncertain wait outside the prison, everything now depends on one question: will the execution of Edward Busby actually go forward tonight?At the center of the case is a major legal and moral issue. Multiple experts, including one appointed by the state, agree that Busby is intellectually disabled, which should make him ineligible for execution under U.S. law. Yet a judge rejected those findings, setting up a last-minute battle reaching the U.S. Supreme Court.As hours pass and tension builds, the system hangs in the balance. This episode puts you on the ground, in real time, as decisions are made behind closed doors and the clock keeps ticking.A story about doubt, justice, and a system under pressure, where the outcome remains uncertain until the very last moment.Subscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.Discover our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories

    11 min
  3. Texas' 600th Execution: Inside the Fight Over Intellectual Disability

    May 10

    Texas' 600th Execution: Inside the Fight Over Intellectual Disability

    Texas is about to carry out its 600th execution since 1976. But this case is different.Edward Lee Busby Jr is scheduled to die for a brutal 2004 murder in Fort Worth. What he did was horrific. A 77-year-old woman, Laura Lee Crane, was taken at random from a grocery store parking lot and killed. Her family still carries that loss.But today, the focus has shifted to a critical question: should he even be eligible for execution?Two independent experts, one for the defense and one for the prosecution, reached the same conclusion. They found Busby to be intellectually disabled. Under U.S. Supreme Court law, that should make him ineligible for the death penalty.Yet a Texas court rejected those findings.Now, the case has reached the highest court in the country, raising a deeper issue that goes far beyond one man:Can a judge ignore unanimous medical expertise?And what does that mean for others on death row?In this episode of Death Row Stories, I take you inside a legal battle that exposes the cracks in the system. To bring clarity, I revisit an interview I conducted in October 2022 with attorney Richard Burr, a leading expert who worked on the landmark Supreme Court case that banned the execution of people with intellectual disabilities. His insight helps unpack what “intellectual disability” really means, how it is assessed, and why these cases remain so contested today.This is not just about one execution.It is about where the law draws the line.🔴 A real case.⚖️ A national debate.⏳ And a decision that could come too late.Subscribe to follow the case as it unfolds.Discover our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-StoriesEmail me at: cultureaventure@gmail.com

    12 min
  4. Outside James Broadnax’s Execution, as Doubt Hung Over It

    May 2

    Outside James Broadnax’s Execution, as Doubt Hung Over It

    At the gates of the Huntsville Unit, I witnessed one of the most controversial executions in recent Texas history. James Broadnax was put to death as serious doubts still surrounded his case, after his cousin Demarius Cummings recently claimed he was the actual gunman.In this episode of Death Row Stories, I report from outside the prison as protesters gather on both sides, families of the victims arrive, and the final legal battle reaches the Supreme Court of the United States.Inside the death chamber, witnesses described an emotional scene as Broadnax’s wife cried out while he maintained his innocence in his final statement.This is not just the story of one execution. It is a story about doubt, punishment, grief, and the irreversible power of the state.📍 Filmed in Huntsville🎥 Death Row Stories🔔 Subscribe for on-the-ground reporting on America’s death penalty system#DeathRow #Texas #Execution #JamesBroadnax #DeathPenalty #TrueCrime #Huntsville #Justice #Prison #DocumentarySubscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.Discover our YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories Email me at: cultureaventure@gmail.com

    12 min
  5. Secrets of Lethal Injections EXPOSED

    Mar 28

    Secrets of Lethal Injections EXPOSED

    What really happens when the state kills someone?In this shocking episode of Death Row Stories, I sit down with Corinna Barrett Lain, author of Secrets of the Killing State, to expose the dark, hidden world of lethal injection, botched executions, and the secret systems behind the death penalty in America.For years, states have claimed lethal injection is clean, humane, and reliable. But what if that’s not true? In this conversation, Corinna Barrett Lain reveals the disturbing history of execution drugs, execution protocols, Supreme Court decisions, and the shocking ways states have scrambled for drugs to carry out executions — including midazolam, pentobarbital, nitrogen gas, and even questionable drug sourcing.We also dig into the most terrifying questions: Why do executions go wrong so often? Why is so much of this hidden from the public? And what does the law really say about cruel and unusual punishment? If you think you know how lethal injection works, this interview will change your mind.This episode is essential viewing for anyone interested in true crime, capital punishment, criminal justice, death row, execution methods, law, Supreme Court cases, and the hidden reality of how the state carries out death sentences in the United States.Subscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.Discover our podcast YouTube Channel:https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories Email me at: cultureaventure@gmail.com

    1h 11m
  6. They Executed a 21-Year-Old Who Couldn't Understand His Trial

    Mar 7

    They Executed a 21-Year-Old Who Couldn't Understand His Trial

    In 1913, a 21-year-old man was executed in Texas after a trial he could not understand. This episode of Death Row Stories investigates one of the most disturbing and little-known cases in the history of the death penalty in Texas. Abram Ortiz was a young Mexican laborer working in South Texas. When a violent crime shocked the region, he was arrested and quickly brought to trial. But there was a major problem. The trial was conducted entirely in English.Abram Ortiz did not speak English. In Hidalgo County, near the Texas–Mexico border, a jury of English-speaking men decided his fate. On May 2, 1913, the 21-year-old was publicly hanged inside the county jail in Edinburg, Texas.It remains the only legal hanging ever carried out in the history of the county.Why was this execution so controversial? Did Ortiz truly understand the accusations against him?And why did Texas abandon public hangings soon after? Inside the original jail, now part of the Museum of South Texas History, we explore the room where the execution took place and the historical context of justice along the border in the early 20th century. This episode looks at the history of capital punishment in America, the realities of justice in early Texas, and the human stories behind executions that shaped the debate over the death penalty.If you are interested in true crime, capital punishment, Texas history, executions, and forgotten cases of American justice, subscribe to Death Row Stories for more investigations. Support this work and access exclusive content through the channel membership. Subscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.Discover our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories

    16 min
  7. 28 Hanged in the Square:America's Forgotten Mass Execution

    Jan 31

    28 Hanged in the Square:America's Forgotten Mass Execution

    In 1847, a United States–appointed governor was killed in his own home. He was shot with arrows and scalped in front of his family. What followed was one of the earliest mass executions carried out by American authorities.In this episode of Death Row Stories, I speak with Bob Romero, former president of the Taos County Historical Society and author of a history book on Taos. Standing on Taos Plaza, he explains what happened after the killing of Governor Charles Bent.Men were arrested and put on trial. Romero describes the proceedings as a mock trial or a kangaroo court. The judge had lost his son in the violence. The jury was led by the governor’s own brother. Sentences were handed down quickly.Several men were hanged on the town’s main square. One of the leaders of the uprising, Tomasito Romero, was shot inside the jail before he was ever tried.The events are known as the Taos Revolt. At the time, the territory was under US military control, but sovereignty had not yet changed. Law, power, and punishment collided in the open, in front of the population.This episode explores capital punishment before death row, before modern courts, when executions were public and immediate.A governor scalped.A kangaroo trial.Hangings on the plaza.This is Death Row Stories.Subscribe to the channel to explore the history and reality of the death penalty in the United States.Discover our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@death-row-storiesEmail me at: cultureaventure@gmail.com

    16 min
  8. 30 Brain Lesions, Multiple Sclerosis, On Death Row… and Smiling (with names withdrawed)

    12/27/2025

    30 Brain Lesions, Multiple Sclerosis, On Death Row… and Smiling (with names withdrawed)

    What happens when a single decision changes everything?In this episode of Death Row Stories, Tyrone Williams speaks from inside Texas death row — not to explain a crime, but to reflect on the choices that can define a life forever.From refusing a plea deal to believing he acted to protect his children, Tyrone walks us through the moments where the path split… and never came back. Now diagnosed with multiple sclerosis and living with nearly 30 brain lesions, he survives years of solitary confinement while waiting for a decision that could mean life or death. And yet, against all expectations, he remains clear minded, engaged, and often smiling.Filmed inside Texas death row, this conversation takes us to a place where time stops, bodies weaken, but the mind keeps fighting — and where optimism becomes an act of resistance.More about Tyrone and his fight for justice:👉 https://afathersfightforjustice.com/👉 For more real conversations from inside death row, subscribe to Death Row Stories.Subscribe to stay informed and engaged with the stories that need to be told.

    52 min
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Ratings & Reviews

5
out of 5
6 Ratings

About

Welcome to Death Row Stories, a podcast dedicated to exploring the complex and often harrowing world of the death penalty in the United States. I’m François Picard, a journalist and documentary director with over 20 years of experience. Throughout my career, the most impactful reports I produced were those about death row. In this podcast, I shed light on the human stories behind the death penalty, offering firsthand accounts and in-depth analysis. Join me as we uncover the realities behind these 2 words. Discover our stories on our YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories

Information

  • Creator
    François Picard
  • Years Active
    2024 - 2026
  • Episodes
    33
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © François Picard
  • Show Website
    Death Row Stories

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