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

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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.

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https://www.youtube.com/@Death-Row-Stories

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