A 41-year-old Brownsville man scheduled to be executed by the State of Texas on Sept. 12 at 6 p.m. is asking a federal judge to stay his execution.
Ruben Gutierrez, who was sentenced to death in 1999 for the brutal slaying of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison at the Harrison Mobile Home Park on Morningside Road in 1998, made the request on Aug. 10.
A Cameron County jury in the 107th state District Court convicted Gutierrez based on evidence that he befriended Harrison so he could rob her of some of the $600,000 in cash that she had hidden in her home.
According to police, Harrison didn't like banks and kept her money in a suitcase in her trailer home. An autopsy showed she had been stabbed 13 times with 2 different screwdrivers and was also beaten.
Lawyers for Gutierrez, who were appointed on Aug. 6 and 10, argue in the motion that they need time to introduce themselves to Gutierrez, his family and to familiarize themselves with the massive case record for the man who has been on death row for nearly 20 years.
"Through no fault of his own, Mr. Gutierrez is before this Court less than a month before his scheduled execution with counsel who were appointed to his case within the past 10 days," the motion for a stay of execution states. Gutierrez's previous attorney is no longer procedurally eligible to represent the man at the end stage of his appeals process, court records show.
Court documents also indicate that Gutierrez's new lawyers may be preparing for civil rights litigation against the State of Texas and want to apply for clemency, which, if granted, would convert Gutierrez's death sentence to life in prison without parole.
Gutierrez's attorneys also contend they need time to investigate what kind of efforts trial attorney's who represented Gutierrez put into DNA testing forensic evidence at the crime scene.
"Mr. Gutierrez has fought for nearly a decade to have the forensic evidence in his case DNA tested - including fingernail scrapings, blood stains, and hair evidence. To date, none of it has been tested," court documents show.
Gutierrez claims he played no role in the murder, though he admits to orchestrating the burglary, and continues to assert his innocence, alleging if the forensic evidence is tested it would corroborate his claims and render him ineligible for the death penalty, court documents indicate.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said Gutierrez's DNA claim is bogus.
"The DNA claim is hogwash. He himself gave a statement and in the statement he declares that he participated in the murder. His coactor, co-defendant, testified in open court, under cross examination, that Gutierrez was an active member in the crime," Saenz said. "So the DNA is going to show that he was there and the DNA is nothing more than a dilatory movement at this point by a desperate man.To a certain extent, you can't blame him because he's facing death."
Alex Hernandez, Harrison's nephew, echoed Saenz's sentiment.
"I think, to me, he's just turning his wheels for the last time because there are no more options," Hernandez said. "He's prolonging something that's inevitable."
Saenz said both judge and jury rejected Gutierrez's claims that his confession was coerced and the DA again pointed to co-defendants who place Gutierrez at the scene and link him to the killing.
"I hope to overcome it," Saenz said of the motion for a stay of execution. "And hope that the sentence is carried out because that's what the jury decided, and the family has waited long enough for closure."
If Gutierrez is unsuccessful in postponing his execution, he will be the 9th death row inmate executed this year by the State of Texas.
Source: Brownsville Herald, August 22, 2018
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