Mr. Gutierrez continues to pursue his right to DNA testing in his case which has been denied for years by the state. This testing will show he did not commit this crime, and we continue to question why the state refuses to allow us to do this routine testing. We will continue litigating this issue.
A ruling by U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera Jr. dismissing a federal lawsuit filed by death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez could mean his execution date could possibly be getting closer, but his attorneys could file another lawsuit to delay or halt it.
Olvera on Friday dismissed a lawsuit filed on Gutierrez’s behalf that alleged his civil rights were being violated because a member of the clergy could not be with him when he is put to death.
A Cameron County jury in 1999 found Gutierrez guilty of capital murder in the death of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison at her trailer home in 1998.
In his ruling, Olvera writes that Gutierrez has not identified anything in his proposed injunction that is not covered by what the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said it would comply with.
“Gutierrez does not point to any accommodation which Director Lumpkin has not promised to fulfill. TDCJ’s change in policy to allow clergy in the execution chamber and Director Lumpkin’s assurance the State will provide Gutierrez the accommodations has resolved the controversy raised by the instant lawsuit,” Olvera writes.
“The Court will dismiss the case without prejudice,” Olvera said in his ruling.
According to records, Gutierrez attempted to steal $600,000 from Harrison that she had hidden inside her home.
An autopsy report indicates a screwdriver was used to kill the woman. She had been stabbed several times in the facial area. Her body was found in the bedroom of her trailer home.
Prosecutors argued Gutierrez and two accomplices planned to rob Harrison of her savings, killing the woman when the theft didn’t go according to plan.
Gutierrez has maintained his innocence, pursuing multiple appeals at the state and federal levels seeking to have crime scene evidence tested for DNA.
We welcome the court’s ruling. The judge’s decision finding that Gutierrez’s request is moot is yet another example of a convicted murderer’s manipulation of the criminal justice system for his benefit.
All of his appeals were denied.
Shawn Nolan, chief of the Capital Habeas Unit for the Community Federal Defender Office of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, who is one of Gutierrez’s attorneys, on Saturday said although this lawsuit deals with Gutierrez’s right to have a spiritual advisor with him should he been executed.
“Mr. Gutierrez continues to pursue his right to DNA testing in his case which has been denied for years by the state. This testing will show he did not commit this crime, and we continue to question why the state refuses to allow us to do this routine testing. We will continue litigating this issue,” he said.
Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said the Olvera’s ruling means authorities are getting one step closer to finding justice for Harrison and her family.
“We welcome the court’s ruling. The judge’s decision finding that Gutierrez’s request is moot is yet another example of a convicted murderer’s manipulation of the criminal justice system for his benefit,” Saenz said. “Here we are 24 years later after a jury of his peers found him guilty and sentenced him to death for the cold blooded and gruesome murder of Escolastica Harrison and justice has yet to be served and he has yet to be held accountable.”
While that conduct in the execution chamber was not permitted in the past, TDCJ reevaluated its position and voluntarily changed its practice. TDCJ’s practice now is to evaluate each prisoner’s request and accommodate as much as it believes to be feasible.
In December 2022, Gutierrez’s attorneys filed a motion seeking a temporary or permanent injunction to halt his execution until he could be done in a manner that would respect his civil rights.
“At base, Mr. Gutierrez disputes defendants’ assertion that TDCJ officials have provided relief beyond that which Gutierrez asked for in this lawsuit or in any prison grievance and beyond the basis for Gutierrez’s stay of execution. The relief Mr. Gutierrez has always sought is a preliminary and permanent injunction prohibiting defendants from executing Mr. Gutierrez until they can do so in a way that does not violate his rights,” a portion of Gutierrez’s response states.
The State of Texas in return responded in January of this year.
“While that conduct in the execution chamber was not permitted in the past, TDCJ reevaluated its position and voluntarily changed its practice. TDCJ’s practice now is to evaluate each prisoner’s request and accommodate as much as it believes to be feasible,” the state’s response read.
“Gutierrez’s religious requests have been determined to be feasible and have been unconditionally approved as evidenced by the sworn testimony of the Director of the TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division,” the response read.
On Aug. 25, 2021, Gutierrez’s attorneys filed a lawsuit against Byran Collier, executive director of the TDCJ; Bobby Lumpkin, director of the TDCJ Correctional Institutions Division; and Dennis Crowley, warden of the TDCJ.
“Mr. Gutierrez’s request through the requisite TDJC administrative channels for a reasonable accommodation – to have a Catholic spiritual advisor (a) pray aloud, (b) perform Viaticum, and (c) touch his shoulder in the execution chamber until he is pronounced dead – has been denied,” the lawsuit states.
The lawsuit calls for relief so that Gutierrez is executed in a manner that does not violate his religious beliefs and his rights guaranteed under the First Amendment.
Gutierrez remains on death row and is housed at the Polunksy Unit in Livingston, Texas.
