Why a Death Row killer was given a stay of execution with 20 minutes to spare

A murderer on death row was granted a stay of execution by the US Supreme Court- 20 minutes before he was set to receive a lethal injection.

Ruben Gutierrez was sentenced to death for the brutal murder of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison in 1998, who he killed for her life savings.

Prosecutors said the killing of the mobile home park manager and retired teacher was part of an attempt to steal more than $600,000 she had hidden in her home in Brownsville, Texas, because of her mistrust of banks.

But Gutierrez has long maintained his innocence, and said DNA testing would absolve him of the crime and prove he played no part in her death.

Two others were also charged in connection with the case, and Gutierrez’s attorneys have said no physical or forensic evidence connects him to the killing.

The high court’s brief order stated that its stay of execution would remain in effect until the justices decide whether they should review his appeal request. If the court denies the request, the execution reprieve would automatically be lifted.

Gutierrez, who had been set to die at 6pm CPT, was in a holding cell near the death chamber when prison warden Kelly Strong advised him of the court’s intervention at 5.40pm.

‘He was visibly emotional,’ prison spokeswoman Amanda Hernandez said, adding he was not expecting the court stay. ‘We asked him if he wanted to make a statement but he needed a minute.’

‘He turned around to the back of the cell, covered his mouth. He was tearing up, speechless. He was shocked.’

She said Gutierrez then prayed with a prison chaplain and added: ‘God is great!’

The prisoner has had a number of stays of execution in the past, the most recent being in June 2020 when he was granted a reprieve an hour before his scheduled execution.

In the most recent appeal, Gutierrez’s attorneys asked the Supreme Court to intervene, arguing the state of Texas denied his right to post-conviction DNA testing that would show he would not have been eligible for the death penalty.

His attorneys argued that various items recovered from the crime scene — including nail scrapings from Harrison, a loose hair wrapped around one of her fingers and various blood samples from within her home — have never been tested.

In a petition to the Supreme Court, his attorneys wrote: ‘Gutierrez faces not only the denial of (DNA testing) that he has repeatedly and consistently sought for over a decade, but moreover, execution for a crime he did not commit. No one has any interest in a wrongful execution.’

Shawn Nolan, an attorney for Gutierrez, expressed pleasure with the court’s decision late Tuesday. ‘We are hopeful that now the Court has stepped in to stop this execution, we can ultimately accomplish the DNA testing to prove that Mr. Gutierrez should not be executed now or in the future,’ he said in a statement.

Prosecutors have said the request for DNA testing is a delay tactic and that Gutierrez was convicted on various pieces of evidence, including a confession in which he admitted to planning the robbery and that he was inside her home when she was killed.

In their response to Gutierrez’s Supreme Court petition, the Texas Attorney General’s Office and the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office had said state law does not provide ‘for post-conviction DNA testing to show innocence of the death penalty and, even if it did, Gutierrez would not be entitled to it.’

Lower courts have previously denied Gutierrez’s requests for DNA testing.

Authorities said Gutierrez befriended Harrison so he could rob her. 

Prosecutors said Harrison hid her money underneath a false floor in her bedroom closet.

Two of Harrison’s nephews and three of their friends were to have witnessed the execution. They declined to comment on the court’s reprieve.

Police charged three people in this case: Rene Garcia, Pedro Gracia and Gutierrez. Rene Garcia is serving a life sentence in a Texas prison while Pedro Gracia, who police said was the getaway driver, remains at large.

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