(NEW YORK) — John Henry Ramirez was executed in Texas in 2022 after being convicted of murder in the 2004 death of 46-year-old Pablo Castro.
In her documentary “I am Ready, Warden,” director Smriti Mundhra tells the story of Ramirez’s attempt to reach out to the victim’s son, Aaron Castro.
ABC News’ Linsey Davis sat down with Mundhra, also known for the Oscar-nominated “St. Louis Superman,” and Castro to discuss the documentary.
ABC NEWS: Is redemption or retribution possible for a murderer? Director Smriti Mundhra examines this question and more in a new Oscar-shortlisted documentary from MTV called “I’m Ready, Warden.” Let’s take a look.
Smriti Mundhra and Aaron Castro join us now. Thank you so much for coming on the show. Now this film highlights John Henry Ramirez; he had been on death row for 14 years, in solitary confinement for 23 hours a day.
Smriti, I understand you heard about his story by reading an article by The Marshall Project. What about that article made you decide you wanted to do a film about his death row experience?
SMRITI MUNDHRA: I wanted to specifically examine a story of a person on death row who had admitted to committing the crime. There was no question of innocence or guilt. And, you know, who had had the time, you know, in prison to really reflect and, you know, atone for what they’d done. And also look at the perspective of the victim side, you know, of the impact on the family of, you know, on the other side of things.
So that’s sort of how this project really came to be. And I read an article by a journalist who had — Keri Blakinger — who had done a lot of work, you know, writing about men in the prison system and on death row, and we collaborated.
ABC NEWS: And Aaron, Ramirez killed your father. What made you decide that you wanted to participate in this film?
CASTRO: I think not hiding from the problem and being able to talk about it is always those first steps, right? They always say talk about it, don’t hold things in.
And this allowed me to kind of give more of my father’s side of things as not just a Mexican immigrant who was murdered, but call him by his name, Pablo Castro. And, you know, share a little bit more about him and how it affected us.
ABC NEWS: I understand that Ramirez reached out to you when he was on death row, when he was saying his goodbyes to his own family. And your response? Have you changed your opinion at all about him or the idea of giving people a second chance?
CASTRO: I think something that the film really shows is that change. That change of mindset. You know, because the film is showing something so raw and authentic within the moment you’re able to capture through even moments of silence in the documentary, moments where I am thinking and understanding and following my heart, how do I feel? How has this really affected me?
And, you know, I’m a human being. I’m empathetic, and I have emotions as well. So I had to really dig deep.
ABC NEWS: What did you learn about death row while you were doing this film?
MUNDHRA: I think probably the most profound thing I learned about death row and the death penalty overall is that it doesn’t always offer the closure and justice that it promises, you know, and that there’s victims on all sides. There’s a ripple effect, right, when a person is incarcerated, you know, to families on both sides.
ABC NEWS: Does it offer closure?
CASTRO: I think that’s something that I have thought about for a long time, that’s the difference between, for me, deciding to choose hate and anger or forgiveness and compassion. And I think each individual human being has to search that for themselves.
ABC NEWS: Smriti, this is your second Oscar film or film that’s been shortlisted for the Oscars about violence in America. What is it that you hope that the viewers will take away with regard to this theme?
MUNDHRA: I feel it’s my responsibility to really understand, you know, these subjects, these institutions that are really designed to protect me, but that victimize others, to really understand what they’re about, you know, and really take stock of my own values and really pose that question to the viewers. You know, as, you know, what is our value system as a culture, as a society?
ABC NEWS: Smriti, Aaron, we thank you both so much for coming on the show. And you can watch “I am Ready, Warden,” available on streaming.
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