Authors talked about capital punishment. They also responded to questions from members of the audience. Professor Patterson moderated.

Thomas Cahill is the author of A Saint on Death Row: How a Forgotten Child Became a Man and Changed a World. David Dow is the author of The Autobiography of an Execution. Robert Elder is the author of Last Words of the Executed. Jill Patterson is a case storyteller for the West Texas Regional Public Defenders Office for Capital Cases. In this capacity, she reviews court transcripts, police records, medical and education records, and interviews defendants, family members, and other witnesses in order to tell a story used for mitigation purposes during a capital trial.

The program "Witness to an Execution: Capital Punishment in America" was held in the C-SPAN/Book TV Tent of the Texas Book Festival. The program opens and closes with scenes from the festival.