Werner Herzog’s new documentary mini-series, “On Death Row,” got even more real yesterday when interview subject George Rivas was executed by lethal injection in Texas. Rivas, who was 41-years-old, was known as the ringleader of the Texas 7 gang, which organized the state’s biggest prison break. While on the run, the group committed a robbery that led to the death of a police officer. All of the escapees were ultimately sentenced to death, including another man Herzog features in the program.
In one of his final interviews at the Polunsky Unit in West Livingston, Texas, Rivas recounted the decisions that led to the police officer’s death. While the mini-series debuts on I.D. on March 9 at 10 p.m., the episode featuring Rivas and fellow gang member Joseph Garcia airs on March 23. The mini-series features Herzog’s interviews with a total of five different inmates in Texas and Florida prisons. Watch a clip from the mini-series below.
Werner Herzog’s ON DEATH ROW (2:30 Clip) from Investigation Discovery on Vimeo.