The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for a Texas man just 20 minutes before he was scheduled to face a lethal injection on Tuesday evening. The inmate, who has long maintained that DNA testing could help prove his innocence in the fatal stabbing of an 85-year-old woman during a home robbery decades ago, was spared from the planned chemical injection at the Huntsville, Texas, death chamber.
The 47-year-old man, Ruben Gutierrez, was condemned for the 1998 stabbing of Escolastica Harrison in her Brownsville home. Gutierrez has consistently sought DNA testing to demonstrate his lack of involvement in her death, with his attorneys emphasizing the absence of physical or forensic evidence linking him to the crime. Two others were also charged in connection with the case.
The Supreme Court's stay of execution will remain in effect until the justices decide whether to review Gutierrez's appeal request. If the request is denied, the execution reprieve will be lifted automatically. Gutierrez, who was moments away from facing death, was visibly emotional upon receiving the news of the stay, expressing gratitude and shock at the unexpected turn of events.
Over the years, Gutierrez has faced multiple postponed execution dates, including issues related to having a spiritual adviser present in the death chamber. In the most recent appeal, his attorneys argued that Texas had denied his right to post-conviction DNA testing, which they believe would exonerate him from the death penalty.
Prosecutors, however, view the DNA testing request as a delay tactic, citing Gutierrez's confession to planning the robbery and being present at the scene of the crime. He was convicted under Texas' law of parties, which holds individuals accountable for crimes they assist or encourage.
Despite the denial of DNA testing by lower courts and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles' decision against commuting Gutierrez's sentence, the Supreme Court's intervention has provided a temporary reprieve. The case involves two other individuals charged in the crime, with one serving a life sentence and the other remaining at large.
