[LBJ Future Forum] The Death Penalty in Texas

For decades, Texas has been the state most closely associated with the death penalty. That's still true to this day. Rather than dedicating time to one specific case or debating the validity of capital punishment, the Future Forum hosted an intimate conversation centered on the cost, gravity, and frequency of the death penalty in this state. This conversation, moderated by Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist Maurice Chammah of The Marshall Project, featured a rich discussion with Richard Linklater, renowned Austin filmmaker and mind behind the recent documentary Hometown Prison, and Estelle Hebron-Jones, death penalty lawyer for the Texas Defender Service and formerly of the Equal Justice Initiative. They touched on a variety of topics, ranging from the death penalty's widespread impacts on communities and families to its deep cultural roots in the Texas criminal justice system.