Derrek Brooks is the son of Charlie Brooks Jr., (also known as Sharif Ahmad Abdul-Rahim at the time of his death), who was the first person executed by lethal injection (on December 7, 1982) in the United States. In Tape 1, Brooks recounts stories he has heard about his father’s childhood and from his own childhood; describes interactions he had with his father; shares what he knows about his father’s case and trial; and describes the effects of drugs on his father's life. In Tape 2, Brooks discusses life with his grandparents, and experiences at church as a child; the transformation of his neighborhood after the introduction of drugs; his father’s experiences in prison; and reflects on how his life has been shaped by his father's. In Tape 3, Brooks describes the day of the execution; the media attention his family received following the execution and funeral; the attention Charlie Brooks Jr.’s case receives today; and his own thoughts about the use and future of the death penalty in Texas. This interview took place in February 2013, at his mother's home in the Echo Heights neighborhood in Fort Worth, TX.
Contributor | Contribuidor:
Brooks, Derrek (Narrator), Texas After Violence Project (Contributor), Lorins, Rebecca (Interviewer), Keller, Louis (Videographer), Vaughn, Joanna (Transcriber), Long, Walter (Transcriber), Rubio, Jessica (Proofreader), Lorins, Rebecca (Proofreader), and Rubio, Jessica (Writer of accompanying material)