We Visited Death Row for the Super Bowl. You Can Help Save This Fan's Life.
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What is the story of Charles Flores and his wrongful conviction?
Welcome to Pablo Torre Finds Out. I am Pablo Torre, and today we're going to find out what this sound is.
Sooner or later, the truth's going to come out, and I'm going to have that opportunity to see life after this.
Right after this ad.
Back when I was a magazine reporter, and this was many years before I locked myself inside the PTFO studio in New York City, I loved spending time on the road, just driving around this country. But one place I had never been before is a town in East Texas called Livingston. Livingston is the home of the Polonsky Unit, a supermax prison that is otherwise known as Texas's Death Row. You may recall that we sent PTFO correspondent Dave Fleming to this place back in October 2024 because we wanted Dave to find out about the apparently enormous role that football fandom plays for the inmates here. The men whose last words before state execution sometimes even wind up being shout-outs to their favorite NFL team, which, in a sense, says everything.
But today, more than a year later, and ahead of Super Bowl Sunday, it is my turn to meet our guide to a fandom that is truly unlike any other. A remarkable inmate by the name of Charles Don Flores. A person you can hear right now as he's walking down the hall to the Polonsky unit's visitation room. This surreal place with a painting of Cookie Monster on the wall behind me, an eerie Star Wars mural across the way, and a thick pane of glass which forever separates the inmates from their kids, their family, their visitors. Charles Flores spends almost all of his life at the Polonsky Unit in solitary confinement.
How you doing, brother? You good?
Charles. But now, as we'll explain... He is running out of time, even though he never should have ended up in here at all. It occurs to me that you spend 23 hours a day in solitary. Yeah. And so you have an hour with me, and I am really grateful that you're taking the time.
Thanks so much for caring and for coming down here and for taking interest. in my situation and, you know, because it's not just about me, it's about all the guys down here, right? I'm just one person out of, you know, almost 200 people down here.
But the other reason I'm here, of course, is you're the Pablo Torre Finds Out official Dallas Cowboys correspondent. That's right. And so the first question that I have for you is how about them Cowboys?
Oh, man, how about them Cowboys? What happened? Oh. I think that they weren't able to adjust on defense. I think it come down to they had some good players. But they didn't have the right players to fit the scheme that Iberflues was running. And then when they realized that and they tried to change it, it was like the position coaches didn't have them ready. And in the biggest moments, they failed against Detroit, you know?
Yeah.
They were playing 10 yards off the wide receiver, off of Jamison Williams, the fastest dude on the field. You're going to give him 10 yards? He was gone. They were covering him with the safety. Come on, man. That'd be like me trying to cover.
Well, can I read you the e-message that you sent us? Because I need to hold you to account as a guy with takes.
All right.
You're referencing Jameson Williams, you're referencing Matt Iberflues, you're referencing the coaches. This is what you said May 2025. Uh-oh. Quote, so in case you didn't hear, this is the year the Cowboys win another Super Bowl, exclamation point. You heard it here first. And when it happens, remember I predicted it. I'm so pumped about the upcoming NFL season and college football too, end quote.
Okay.
And then some stuff happened. I was thinking about you on January 4th.
Yeah.
How did you feel, in truth, about playing the Giants, last game of the season, and what you wanted?
After the Detroit game, I didn't want them to win another game. Because I wanted a top 10 pick, a top 8 pick, you know? To be able to get the player that they need. And if you ask me what they need, they need a big defensive end that can rush. You know what I'm saying? So them don't grow on trees. Them are at the top 10.
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Chapters
5 chapters
1
What is the story of Charles Flores and his wrongful conviction?
0:00–5:26
2
How does football fandom impact inmates on death row?
5:26–10:13
3
How does solitary confinement affect life on death row?
10:13–29:35
4
What is forensic hypnosis and how did it affect Charles Flores' case?
29:35–57:08
5
What was Charles Flores' experience watching the Super Bowl in prison?
57:08–58:39
Speakers
5 identifiedMore from Pablo Torre Finds Out
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