Since 1982, 515 people have been executed by the state of Texas. Nationally, 143 people have been exonerated from death row--saved from a wrongful ex*****on, often times only hours before their scheduled moment of death. The Death Penalty in the United States represents a deeply flawed system of justice. It is a web of inextricably linked problems; state institutionalized racism, entrenched margin
ality, and the overwhelming subjectivity of our sentencing system. Final Words' principal objective is to humanize the debate, and create the space for new dialogue about Death Row by allowing the words of the executed to speak. Each inmate on death row within the Texas Department of Criminal Justice is allowed to issue a final statement before being executed. As they lie strapped in a gurney and wait for the saline solution to take effect, they are permitted to speak into a microphone suspended above their heads. This recording is kept by Texas and archived at the Department of Criminal Justice. Final Words has arisen from a necessity to widely distribute these final testimonies and propel them into the public realm. The Final Words movement comprises a book of these statements, a youth outreach and education program, an art exhibition and an online platform for discussion.
