The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez

THE BALLAD OF ESEQUIEL HERNANDEZ
Producer: Kieran Fitzgerald
Genre: Documentary
Length: 1 Episode/90 Minutes
Broadcast Date: July 29, 2008 on PBS (P.O.V. Series)

U.S. Marines patrolling the Texas-Mexico border as part of the War on Drugs shot and killed Esequiel Hernández Jr. Mistaken for a drug runner, the 18-year-old was, in fact, a U.S. citizen tending his family’s goats with a .22 rifle. He became the first American killed by U.S. military forces on native soil since the 1970 Kent State shootings. Narrated by Tommy Lee Jones, the film explores Hernández’s tragic death and its torturous aftermath. His parents and friends, the Marines on patrol, and investigators discuss the dangers of militarizing the border and the death of one young man. A co-presentation of POV.

For more information, please visit the P.O.V. website at: www.pbs.org/pov/ballad.