When the end credits rolled on I Am Ready, Warden at the Austin Short Film Festival, the entire audience seemed to exhale in unison. The short documentary, now streaming on Paramount+, chronicles the days leading up to the execution of John Henry Ramirez, a 38-year-old killed by the state in 2022. It’s a difficult watch, but a worthwhile one for people on any side of the death penalty debate.
This documentary packs more raw emotion and uncomfortable truths into 36 minutes than others do with twice that time. It shows the people affected most by capital punishment in striking close-up, giving voice to their complicated thoughts and views.
Ramirez was sent to death row for the 2004 murder of Pablo Castro outside of a gas station in Corpus Christi. An attempted robbery turned into a fight, which ended with Ramirez fatally stabbing Castro, who had a teenage son. Ramirez fled to Mexico that same night, and he remained on the run before being captured in 2008 and eventually sentenced.
