The Years of Fierro

Mexican national César Fierro confessed to killing cab driver Nicolás Castañón in El Paso, TX, in 1979, and was swiftly convicted of murder and sentenced to death. Fierro's lawyers have since presented arguments that call his guilt into question, including a total lack of forensic evidence and the fact that corroboration was limited to the accusations of a psychologically disturbed minor. It is alleged that Fierro's confession was coerced by collusion between the El Paso and Juarez police. The Mexican government contends that Fierro's treatment violated the Vienna Convention regarding the right of foreign nationals to have access to consular officials. Still, the Texas court system has kept him on death row for nearly four decades. Filmmaker Santiago Esteinou's somber documentary interviews Fierro, his lawyers, prison officials, and even an ex-policeman from Juarez, while focusing on the misery that the case has left in its wake. Castañón's relatives wonder why Fierro's accuser was released instead of being investigated and perhaps prosecuted, and they suggest that Fierro should be freed. Fierro himself has suffered periodic breakdowns over his long years of confinement (and, he alleges, torture). Most poignantly, Fierro's brother Sergio, a homeless man who spends his days wandering the desert and his nights sleeping in an amusement park, describes how their mother grieved for César before her death, how César's wife and daughter have moved on with their lives, and how Sergio blames himself for having befriended the youngster who fingered César for the crime. Esteinou's film arouses anger about an apparent miscarriage of justice, but even greater sadness over the terrible ripple effect it has had on several individuals. Recommended. Aud: C, P. (F. Swietek)