A federal judge on Tuesday granted a stay of execution for a Texas death row prisoner who was scheduled for death next week.
Ruben Gutierrez, who turns 43 on Wednesday, has maintained his innocence in the 1998 slaying of a trailer park owner in Brownsville.
His attorneys have long sought to test the available evidence for DNA to show whether he was responsible for the crime.
His attorneys also argue that the state’s policy that prevents chaplains and spiritual advisers from entering the execution chamber violates his constitutional rights.
Gutierrez wants a Christian chaplain to accompany him to his execution.
“The Court concludes that Gutierrez has made a showing of likelihood of success on the merits of at least one of his DNA or execution-chamber claims,” according to the ruling made by Brownsville Federal District Court Judge Hilda Tagle.
The Texas Attorney General’s Office has appealed the ruling to the Fifth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, according to Gutierrez’s lawyer, Shawn Nolan.
“In a case with no physical or forensic evidence against him, to execute Mr. Gutierrez without conducting DNA testing would be the ultimate violation of his civil rights,” Nolan said in a statement.
“Additionally, the state is refusing to allow Mr. Gutierrez to have a Christian chaplain accompany him into the execution chamber, in violation of the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. TDCJ cannot just pick and choose which of its own rules and which constitutional rights apply to a prisoner and it should not attempt to conduct an execution under these circumstances.”
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokesman Jeremy Desel declined to comment on the decision.
Source: Houston Chronicle, Julian Gill, June 9, 2020
Federal judge stays Gutierrez execution set for next week
A federal judge on Tuesday stayed the execution set for next week of a man condemned for the fatal stabbing more than 20 years ago of an 85-year-old woman.
Ruben Gutierrez, 43, was to die next Tuesday for the 1998 killing of Escolastica Harrison at her Brownsville home.
Prosecutors said the killing was part of an attempt to steal more than $600,000 the woman had hidden in her home.
His attorneys, however, have long sought DNA testing of evidence they say could save him and the presence of a Christian chaplain in the execution chamber.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice, by policy, prohibits all religious or spiritual advisors from entering the state death chamber for an execution.
U.S. District Judge Hilda Tagle of Brownsville concurred Tuesday. In a 3-page opinion, Tagle "concludes that Gutierrez has made a showing of likelihood of success on the merits of at least one of his DNA or execution-chamber claims.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals had granted Gutierrez a stay last October after his attorneys pointed out a flaw in his original death warrant.
Source: Associated Press, Staff, June 9, 2020
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