Death Row – A Somber and Sobering Reality

The most infamous room in Huntsville, Texas. Those destined to die are afforded a shower and their choice of a last meal. But ironically, modern prison health regulations do not permit a proverbial "last smoke".

The most infamous room in Huntsville, Texas. Those destined to die are afforded a shower and their choice of a last meal. But ironically, modern prison health regulations do not permit a proverbial "last smoke".

Jim Zura has spent a fair amount of time on Death Row. Since Texas leads the nation in executions, Huntsville (just north of Houston), home of the state's Death Chamber, regularly draws international media attention - and video productions. In [year], Jim shot a one-hour special for the Danish Television Network. The documentary also aired in the U.S., on The Learning Channel.

Zura Productions

"It was an incredible and numbing experience behind the camera as we conducted painful conversations with the victims’ families.”

[First name] Hawkins was arrested and found guilty of the rapes and murders of a 12-year-old girl and a 19-year-old pregnant woman in Borger, Texas. After 17 years on Death Row, he was executed by lethal injection.

Zura Productions

The Walls unit in Huntsville, Texas’ oldest state prison building, opened in 1849. The unit houses the execution chamber of the State of Texas. It is the most active execution chamber in the United States, with 583 (as of March 9, 2023) executions since 1982, when the death penalty was reinstated in Texas.