Pablo Torre Finds Out We Visited Death Row for the Super Bowl. You Can Help Save This Fan's Life.
Feb 5, 2026
Charles Don Flores, a Texas death row inmate and lifelong football and soccer fan who maintains his innocence, describes life in near-total solitary. He recounts watching the Super Bowl from a cell, fandom rituals and commissary cooking. He also discusses the long legal battle around hypnosis-based ID, a 2016 stay, recent setbacks, and a plea to keep his case alive.
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Life Inside Polunsky Supermax
- Charles Flores describes arriving at Polunsky Unit, a Texas supermax, and spending almost all his time in solitary confinement.
- He recounts walking to the visitation room framed by murals and a thick pane of glass separating inmates from visitors.
Hypnosis Drove A Capital Conviction
- The conviction turned on a hypnotized eyewitness who later identified Flores despite no physical evidence linking him to the crime.
- Under Texas' Law of Parties, that identification treated him as if he fired the gun, producing a death sentence.
Watching Football Through Wire Diamonds
- Flores describes how he watches football through a small chain-link diamond and stacks legal papers as a makeshift stool to get closer to the TV.
- He explains the ritual of leaning in, forming a hand-diamond to focus on the screen and treat the communal viewing like home.