NBC News: Chinese TV show Interviews before Execution stirs controversy. While the numbers are a state secret, its believed China executes thousands of prisoners each year. Our site is an advertising supported site. Shortly afterward British newspapers reported that Chinese authorities were unhappy with the documentary and had banned Ding Yu and her colleagues from giving further interviews. In China, citizens can be executed for any one 55 offenses, including endagering public security and economic crimes such as embezzlement, but Interviews Before Execution focuses almost entirely on brutal murder cases. However, when the BBC and PBS International announced plans to air a documentary on the controversial show, the Chinese government canceled Interviews Before Execution to attempt to save the country from embarrassment. "Maybe this interview was the point of my life.". "It's also a means of getting rid of evil deeds through an evil deed. The interviews were conducted shortly before the offender was due to be executed often within a few hours of the punishment being carried out. Providing an instructive snapshot into Chinas sexual mores was Ding Yus extended interview with Bao Rongting, a homosexual man who was convicted of murdering his mother. The show prompted additional episodes featuring the prisoner, and in his final conversation before execution, he implored Ms. Ding to shake his hand, which she did, but to which she later confessed to second-guessing. Many of the cases featured in the programme were motivated by money and one case in particular stands out for Ding. [1], The first edition of Interviews Before Execution was aired on 18 November 2006, and the series was broadcast weekly on Saturday evenings thereafter. It was broadcast on "Interviews Before Execution," a weekly TV program, that aired on the Legal Channel in China's central-eastern Henan Province for over five years. She died instantly. [1] The series - originally Ding Yu's idea - made her a household name. The writers put themselves in the position, hypothetically, that they are to be executed the day after tomorrow, with their life history being everything in their lives up to now. INTERVIEWS BEFORE EXECUTION: Chinese Death Row TV Show Canceled. China and the United States are both among the countries that execute the most prisoners annuallybut only one of them has ever had a TV talk show dedicated to presenting the death row inmates in a personal way. The UK's Mail on Sunday reported on 4 March that Chinese authorities were unhappy with the extent of access given to the BBC in the making of the film, and had banned Ding Yu and her colleagues from giving further interviews amid fears it could damage the country's international standing. Texas executes more prisoners than any other state, at a rate of one per month. The graphic elements that flashed behind the CCTV news anchor featured the tagline ''Killing the Kingpin''. It never interviewed political prisoners or cases where the crime was in question, and the team received the Henan high court's consent in every case. One of her highest-rated episodes dealt with a man who murdered his mother. Interviews Before Execution was first broadcast on 18 November 2006 on Henan Legal Channel, one of 3,000 state-owned TV stations in China. She is about to interview a young man who only in his early twenties,. Anderson was struck by the range of responses he heard from the men. One episode features a handcuffed man in khaki pants and an orange vest, flanked by two guards. The best ratings in the show's history were for this one. "I was back there with him right before the execution, and he was saying to me, 'All day long, people have been saying, What can I do to help you? "If they are warned, tragedies might be averted. "But in the future, it would be good to abolish it. [1] The series originally Ding Yu's idea made her a household name.[3]. Wearing silk scarves and smart suits, this Beauty with the Beasts captivated audiences with one of the most disturbing shows in television history. After getting the go-ahead, Ding Yu had to move quickly since condemned prisoners are often executed days after sentencing. The Daily Mail notes that sometimes interviews were recorded just minutes before a prisoner's execution, and that many confessed crimes and begged for forgiveness as their time on Earth ran out. Interviews Before Execution (simplified Chinese: ) is a Chinese television talk show which was aired on the Henan Legal Channel in the country's Henan Province between 2006 and 2012. Thirteen other crimes, including VAT fraud, smuggling relics and credit fraud, were only recently removed from the list of capital offences. How will you give up on assets By Sumitra onMarch 14th, 2012 Category: Events, News. Tell her and well relay it, you can speak to the camera, she will see you., After hanging his head the prisoner perks up and looks into the camera. Interviews Before Execution - China's Successful Death Row Show. Apart from these figures, I believe since Interview Before Execution must have been approved from Chinese elite officials in order to be broadcast in China as the first show featuring to-be-executed criminals and China's controversial death penalty, and for being broadcast abroad as explanation of China's legal system, this itself is a . Even when she killed her first victim, Richard Mallory - whom she had always insisted raped her - she was acting in cold blood, she said. She said yes. Marketing Strategy & Operations. The experience changed Stevenson forever. But the show did become popular, and its popularity became its downfall. Previously on Dangerous Minds: We're setting out to say these are American citizens that we, the people, have decided to put to death. Interviews Before Execution was aired solely in Henan Province, one of China's largest provinces with nearly 100 million residents, and regularly attracted an audience of 40 million viewers, making it one of Henan's top ten most popular television programmes. Now 70 years old, Billie is fighting for a last-minute stay of execution if it fails, he is set to become the oldest man put to death in Texas for over 100 years. Justice For Iran has published a report on the organised rape of virgin girls awaiting execution in Iranian prisons, focusing specifically on the 1980s. "Was there an underlying question you were trying to answer?" Shes interviewed scorned lovers, child killers, axe murderers, and more. More people have said, What can I do to help you? 1) Just days before he was executed in 1989, Ted Bundy sat down for a lengthy interview with detective Robert D. Keppel. Death is inevitable but what is it like knowing when, where and how you are going to die?This film was first broadcast: 20 Jun 2019Watch More DocumentariesOur Life - https://bit.ly/3A8xRMJ Our History - https://bit.ly/3rUpdhL Our World - https://bit.ly/3ftuckM Our Stories - https://bit.ly/3ynfFykOur Taste - bit.ly/3OZoDcVOur Life brings you fascinating stories of social interest from around the world. Deliver a confident introduction Why did you say that? asks the reporter. "I have six beautiful kids, you know what I'm saying? Extreme Record Collecting: Confessions of an analog vinyl snob, A long, rambling blog post about my Nico obsession (+ some astonishing, seldom seen TV performances). "We are not setting out to say the death penalty is good, the death penalty is bad. Ding interviewed a prisoner every week until the programme was taken off air. Judge Lui Wenling, who worked closely with the programme-makers, says things are changing in the Chinese legal system. A review was also conducted in Oklahoma after the 2014 execution of Clayton Lockett where Lockett struggled on a gurney for 43 minutes before he was declared dead. The reporter has gotten quite a lot, but now she digs even further. Report Browse more videos Playing next 11:34 By entering your email and clicking Sign Up, you're agreeing to let us send you customized marketing messages about us and our advertising partners. I thought [the show] was a great idea right away, not because I thought of it as being commercially successful, but because of our responsibility to society, explained the head of the Henan Legal Channel. "The present criminal policies in China are 'To kill less and cautiously' and 'Combining lenience and strictness'. However, that makes for boring television, so Ding Yus show focuses exclusively on murderers. When you found out she was living with Ding Aiguo, how did you feel? the reporter asks the prisoner. The impact of deepfakes: How do you know when a video is real? ET on OWN. The cancellation was attributed to "internal problems.". Interviews Before Execution: Fascinating, disturbing Chinese talk show, Artist and Activist Ai Weiwei arrested and missing in China, Oliver Reed as a prototype Alex from A Clockwork Orange in These are the Damned, I Have No Desire To Be Nico: Post-Punks Muse Of Manchester, Linder Sterling. Stevenson found the observation both profound and tragic. Susanna is granted Billie's final television interview in the eight-day run up to his death date. [2] The documentary also aired in CI Network Southeast Asia. "Is it better or worse to have a certain date?" he does not believe the consequence should be death. Delving into his family life, Susanna builds a picture of what kind of man Billie was back in 1989, and what kind of man he is now. Though not broadcast throughout China, the controversial "Interviews Before Execution" drew its best ratings on an episode featuring Bao Rongtin, an openly gay man who murdered his mother and violated her dead body, according to The Daily Mail. Thanks to the rather tense atmosphere, Interviews Before Execution captured several unsettling moments like a tearful prisoner collapsing, a convict offering a handshake, and one inmate asking Ding Yu if she thought hed go to heaven. However, the channel later claimed that the programme was only temporarily off air. Imagine knowing the exact day and time you were going to die. Ding acquired the nickname "Beauty with the Beasts," the BBC reports. The . Take Herbert Richardson, for example. If people failed to heed the warnings the programme offered, she says, then it was right that they should face the consequences. BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Defiant to the end, Saddam Hussein mocked Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr moments before he was hanged, a witness said Saturday. They want to be heard. Read about our approach to external linking. Aakhri Sawaal: Interviews Before Execution: A rare fictional exploration of death row inmates narrated by the irreplaceable Kubbra Sait Buri Nazar: A light-hearted family dramedy that turns. 60 Minutes traveled there to find out what it feels like to face certain death. Please enter valid email address to continue. I was a Quaker, and had decided to become a pen . The higher court kept returning the case to the local court until the death sentence was suspended. Reporter Ding Yu is a celebrity in the Henan Province of Central China. Lu Pejin, the director of the Legal Channel says that the purpose of the show was to warn audiences. Presented by journalist Ding Yu the programme featured interviews with people convicted in cases of violent murder who were offered a chance to tell their story while under sentence of death. Executions have been performed for almost as long as there has been human civilization, meaning there have been executioners for just as long. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. "Though he was a man, he asked me in a very feminine tone, 'Do you feel awkward speaking to me?' This World - Interviews before Execution Ding Yu sometimes travels miles in order to hold interviews with prisoners. She and her team made a further three episodes on the case of Bao Ronting and followed him until the day he was executed in November 2008. The Bao Rongting episodes of Interviews Before Execution were a huge ratings success. Prisoner's Final Death Row Interview Before Execution | Our Life Our Life 606K subscribers Subscribe 14K 1.6M views 3 months ago Billie Wayne Coble's final death row interview before his. Yu asked if the girl would like to watch her fathers filmed apology. [1], Interviews Before Execution was aired solely in Henan Province, one of China's largest provinces with nearly 100 million residents, and regularly attracted an audience of 40 million viewers, making it one of Henan's top ten most popular television programmes. In 2012 Interviews Before Execution attracted international attention after the BBC broadcast a documentary about the programme for its This World strand. KANSAS CITY, Mo. "I want everybody to move on, that's it," he said. "They had the guards come in and shave the hair off [Richardson's] body to prepare him for execution, and I watched those men do that. However, I don't think our country is ready yet. By: Justin Nobel | Date: Sat, November 2nd, 2013. But not everyone felt that way. Wake up to the day's most important news. They deserve it.". [1][4] The film, Interviews Before Execution: A Chinese Talk Show, produced in association with LIC China, was aired on BBC Two in the United Kingdom on 12 March 2012. e9.snackbar = true; Feb 2020 - Present3 years 1 month. Meant to deter would-be criminals, the show was called Interviews Before Execution, and it was a major hit. The slogan at the top of every programme called for human nature to awaken and "perceive the value of life". Switch off, senator", "Dead show walking: China's death row interviews series faces axe", "Last night's viewing This World: Interviews Before Execution, BBC2; China: Triumph and Turmoil, Channel 4 Reviews TV & Radio", Interviews Before Execution: A Chinese Talk Show, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Interviews_Before_Execution&oldid=1084835328, Short description is different from Wikidata, Articles containing simplified Chinese-language text, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 26 April 2022, at 22:03. The program included interviews with triumphant police officers and images of the condemned men in shackles. Please whitelist in order to read our content as well as support our work. The practice is illegal in modern China - but the law is not always observed. March 6, 2016 / 6:39 PM Hearing the words in Bundy's actual voice makes the confession even creepier. It was a quiet Wednesday evening in athe suburban area of Humble, Texas on November 9, 1994.Thirty-three-year-old Farah Fratta had just returned home from vi. Part of HuffPost News. "SuperSoul Sunday" airs Sundays at 7 p.m. PBS International's website describes the film and its additions by the BBC as taking "viewers into the nightmare worlds of violent criminals sentenced to deathand of the TV journalist who is their last connection to this world. The. Since 2007 a new safeguard has been introduced: all capital cases must be sent to the Supreme Court for reviewit does happen that they occasionally return cases to the lower courts for further investigation. You can give her a message if you want, says Yu. We use ads to keep our content free for you. Silvio asks Whitaker what he hoped to accomplish with this story. Daniel Lee Lopez, for example, a former crack dealer who killed a police lieutenant during a high-speed chase, told 60 Minutes that he was ready to die for his crimes. Its a shame. However, the episode was so popular because the criminal was openly gay, and homosexuality is severely frowned upon in the Peoples Republic. Part of HuffPost News. Testing helps in removing risks and problems earlier. A series of appeals was each time denied, and just one month before his execution date, Richardson called upon Stevenson to help in the eleventh hour. Every Saturday night in China, millions gather around their televisions to watch Interviews Before Execution, an extraordinary talk show which interviews prisoners on death row. Billie 's final television interview in the Henan Province of Central China you! Beasts captivated audiences with one of 3,000 state-owned TV stations in China of every programme called human! Modern China - but the show was called interviews Before Execution stirs controversy to accomplish with story... I do n't think our country is ready yet to be executed often a. 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