User Reviews

I watched all three seasons of this superbly underrated documentary when it first aired on the BBC. Each episode focuses on a different death row inmate and explores the complex lives of the families of victims and perpetrators.

This is a death row documentary with heart. Its by no means sensationalist, but is thought-provoking no matter what side of the capital punishment argument you side with.

I felt compelled to write this review as I'm currently watching I Am A Killer on Netflix, some of the subjects and even establishing shots and soundtrack are reused in this Netflix series.

I urge fans of the genre to first watch Life And Death Row as it is truly magnificent documentary-making.

AR

I watch a lot of true crime stuff and am a big fan of Making a Murderer and The Staircase, amongst others, and I can say this absolutely excellent documentary surpasses both. I am on the fence when it comes to capital punishment as I see strong arguments on both sides ..... Life and Death Row threw me relentlessly from one side of the debate to the other, one minute I was thinking 'Yep'. just a few minutes later and I'm thinking 'Nope'. It really does thoroughly cover all bases, looking at both sides of every convict, delving deeply into the families of both the victim(s) and the prisoner. There is a lot of really, really raw emotion on display, Whilst sympathy inevitably goes to the families of the victims, did I ever really imagine the impact on the convicted's family? Watching a relative choking with grief whilst holding a photo of their sibling at the time that sibling was being executed, just beyond the boundaries of the execution chamber property, was gobsmackingly powerful. We hear the opinions of so many people, including those not involved personally. We hear from the decision-makers, the press, the Police. I cannot think of an angle that wasn't covered. The inmate who accepts guilt and prays for clemency, the inmate who accepts guilt and wants to die, the inmate who insists he's innocent. All are here. Each story covered felt to me like a mini courtroom drama of the highest order .... is he/she going to be executed? As a UK resident I was unfamiliar with any of the cases included so I didn't know what happened in the end. I was basically just glued to the screen, one of those documentaries where you tell yourself at bedtime 'just 10 more minutes', then ' I may as well finish the episode'' then pretending to be caught out by the next episode starting in 10 seconds ....and so on. For any student of the capital punishment debate this is beyond-essential viewing. For any true crime fan, stop reading this and get it on your tv screen right now. Films, documentaries, TV shows, they all polarise opinion in the main but this is one of those where I find it impossible to believe anyone who watched it could be very entertained at worst and mesmerized at best. I didn't give it an 10 as there were a few times the foot was taken off the gas but that's a back-handed compliment.

A documentary series that leaves you speechless and breathless. Well narrated and all parties of crimes and trials included without favouring or glorifying anyone in particular. At times you feel like a confused member of a jury and find it impossible to pick sides or try to find out who is right and who is wrong. Truly disturbing - makes you nearly too uncomfortable to keep watching at times. Makes you really question themes that you already thought you know your opinions about. Genuine and thought provoking - and for these reasons a definite must-see.

I love true crime documentaries and for me this is the bench mark. This is why we pay the tv license because the BBC is capable of quality programmes like this. No annoying voice over explaining things like you're 5 years old.

This documentary is quality not just on the subject matter but the cinematography, the music/soundtrack which create the perfect dark atmosphere for something so dark really as it doesn't get much worse then the state killing people someone of whom are likely innocent.

I think the makers also made another top series called 'Love and hate' which has one of the scariest documentary episodes I've ever watched.

It's hard to watch . It's hard to agree with the death penalty . It's hard to see young kids being executed. BUT . They murdered ppl . Raped ppl . It's hard to give a toss what happens to them ..