The Darkest Hour: Shedding Light on the Impact of Isolation and Death Row in Texas Prisons by Dr. Betty Gilmore and Nanon M. Williams sheds light on the devastating impact of extreme isolation experienced by thousands of incarcerated individuals in Texas prisons — many of whom will be integrated back into society. This book presents an in depth view of the Texas prison system with a specific focus on Death Row and "solitary confinement," also known as administrative segregation.
Wrongfully convicted of murder as a teenager, Nanon Williams grew up on Texas death row in one of the most brutal of prisons in the United States. In his memoir, "Still Surviving," (2nd Edition, goodmedia press 2013) we learn of a boy growing into manhood on his own terms while in prison and his capacity for surviving violence and racism through many devastating experiences. Nanon Williams shows us the human face of people whom society has defined as monsters and reveals shocking examples of sadistic, inhumane behavior of prison guards.
This documentary exposes the injustice that resulted in the wrongful conviction of Nanon Williams, who was convicted and sent to death row in Texas at the age of 17. More than 30 years later, with his sentence commuted to life, Nanon is a published author and justice advocate who is still fighting to prove his innocence and reclaim his life. This film was was created by three Georgetown undergraduates—Steffanny Acevedo, Abigail Adams-Spiers, and Fax Victor—within the context of a Georgetown University course taught by Professor Marc Howard and Adjunct Professor and 2008 Exoneree Martin Tankleff.
Nanon Williams was sent to death row decades ago for a crime he says he didn't commit. NBC News’ Dan Slepian reports on how Williams became like family to the Reiners as they helped him fight for freedom. In this exclusive report, we find out what a man convicted of murder and a titan of Hollywood learned from each other about love.
Chilling new details have surfaced in the killings of Rob and Michele Reiner, revealing a brutal and haunting irony. According to NBC News, Michele Reiner sent a final email to Nanon Williams, a Texas death-row inmate befriended by the couple, just hours before she was killed, a message delayed by prison screening and read only days later. Williams told NBC News he learned of the Reiners’ murders while scrolling headlines on his state-issued tablet inside the W.F. Ramsey Unit, a maximum-security prison about 40 miles south of Houston, and replied in shock, writing, “Please tell me the news is lying.”
We live in the age of racialized mass incarceration. An age in which tens of thousands of human beings are caged in solitary confinement every day. Some for decades at a time. The Darkest Hour exposes the inhumane impact of extreme isolation experienced by those incarcerated nationwide.
Through intimate interviews with death row survivors like Nanon Williams, now serving life in general population, and the last words of men like Napoleon Beazley before execution by the state of Texas, these stories reveal the savage inner workings of our justice system.
Narrated in hip hop and spoken word by artist/activist Bryonn Bain, creator of the groundbreaking multimedia production Lyrics from Lockdown (executive produced by Harry Belafonte), the film’s soundtrack, the "Life After Lockdown: Digital Mixtape," features founding hip hop DJ Kool Herc and an all-star cast of legends.
The Darkest Hour is a call to action for a complete paradigm shift. We will either be ruled by passionate cries for punishment or heal ourselves with the compassion required to repair a broken nation.