In 1863 Texas, a Mexican mother was hanged for a murder she may not have committed. She never spoke in her own defense-and her silence saved her son.
As the Civil War draws to a close, Guadalupe "Lupita" Rodriguez, a hardened innkeeper, is rushed through a trial built on circumstantial evidence and condemned to become one of the few women ever executed in Texas. When four women visit Lupita in her jail cell, they uncover a devastating truth: she refuses to defend herself because doing so would expose her illegitimate son to execution as well.
Based on a true story, THE HANGING chronicles one woman's extraordinary sacrifice and the 162-year reckoning it leaves behind. From the ambitions of the judge who orchestrated her swift conviction, to decades of buried guilt and unanswered questions, to a 1985 legislative resolution and modern-day remembrance, Lupita's story refuses to remain forgotten.
Centered on a Latina heroine and an ensemble of women determined to preserve her memory, THE HANGING is an unflinching exploration of systemic racism, maternal devotion, and the long road from injustice to acknowledgment. It asks haunting questions that still resonate today: Who is erased from history-and why? What wrongs are we committing now that future generations will struggle to forgive?
A powerful meditation on sacrifice, memory, and truth, THE HANGING restores a silenced voice and proves that even delayed justice can still demand to be heard.