Rick Halperin
2018-05-17 02:18:32 UTC
May 16
TEXAS----execution
Texas executed Juan Castillo, who said he was innocent, for 2003 San Antonio
murder
A Texas death row inmate was executed Wednesday — his 4th execution date in a
year. Though advocates and his attorneys insisted on Juan Castillo's innocence,
he lost all his fights in court and was put to death for a 2003 San Antonio
murder.
Juan Castillo was put to death Wednesday evening, ending his death sentence on
his 4th execution date within the year.
The 37-year-old was executed for the 2003 robbery and murder of Tommy Garcia
Jr. in San Antonio. The execution had been postponed three times since last
May, including a rescheduling because of Hurricane Harvey.
Castillo's advocates and attorneys had insisted on his innocence in Garcia’s
murder, pleading unsuccessfully for a last-minute 30-day stay of execution from
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott after all of his appeals were rejected in the
courts. The Texas Defender Service, a capital defense group who had recently
picked up Castillo’s case, asked Abbott for the delay to let its lawyers fully
investigate claims they said discredited the prosecution’s evidence against
Castillo — including recanted statements and video of police interrogations
that contradict testimony at trial.
But with no action from the governor, Castillo was taken into the death chamber
in Huntsville, and at 6:21 p.m., injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital,
according to the Texas Department of Justice. 23 minutes
later, he was pronounced dead.
“To everyone that has been there for me, you know who you are,” Castillo said
in his final words. “See y’all on the other side.”
A Houston Chronicle reporter who attended the execution said Castillo added:
“Shit does burn."
Prosecutors said Castillo and 3 others lured Garcia to a secluded area in 2003
to rob him by promising him sex with one of Castillo's female accomplices. When
Garcia tried to run, Castillo shot him, according to the accomplices. Castillo
was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005.
A man who bunked near Castillo in the Bexar County jail, Gerardo Gutierrez,
also testified that Castillo had confessed to him about the murder. The
matching testimonies were enough to satisfy a jury, and Castillo was convicted
of capital murder. The 3 others involved in the crime all received lesser
charges and sentences — 1 woman is out on parole, and the other 2 got 40-year
sentences and are eligible for parole within the next 6 years, according to
criminal records.
Prosecutors at the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office remain fully
confident that Castillo was the triggerman in Garcia’s murder. Assistant
Criminal District Attorney Matt Howard said the death penalty is always a heavy
decision to weigh but that Castillo is deserving of the ultimate punishment.
“Understanding the evidence, this was one of those cases where I think the jury
came to the right conclusion” of a death sentence, Howard said.
Castillo’s 1st execution date was set for last May, but it was rescheduled for
September, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The September
execution — set about a week after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas coast
— was also delayed at the request of Bexar County District Attorney Nico
LaHood, since some of Castillo’s legal team lived in Houston.
It was moved to December, and that time the courts took action after the
jailhouse informant changed his story.
In 2013, Gutierrez signed an affidavit saying that he lied in his testimony
against Castillo “to try to help myself.” The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
stopped Castillo’s December execution because of the affidavit, telling the
trial court to look into the issue of false testimony.
3 days later, the Bexar County court issued its decision: Gutierrez’s new
statement saying he lied wasn’t credible since his original testimony so
closely matched that from the others who testified against Castillo.
“Gutierrez's 2013 affidavit makes no explanation for how he, while incarcerated
in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, independently manufactured a
version of events consistent with multiple other witnesses,” wrote Judge Maria
Teresa Herr in her quickly produced opinion.
The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling earlier this year, and Castillo
was given an execution date of May 16.
Castillo’s attorneys admonished the trial court for denouncing Gutierrez’s
affidavit without holding an evidentiary hearing or getting information from
Castillo or Gutierrez, claiming the courts denied their client meaningful
consideration on the issue. But the prosecution said the court already had
“extensive background” about the affidavit before it officially reached the
court, which accounted for the rapid decision to reject it, according to
Howard.
Still, Castillo filed a new appeal with claims that the prosecution withheld
evidence and presented false or misleading testimony. The Court of Criminal
Appeals rejected it on procedural grounds without reviewing the merits of his
claims, leaving Castillo’s attorneys to turn to their last shot, Abbott.
In the defense’s letter to the governor Tuesday, Marzullo wrote that her
organization has recently discovered new evidence that contradicts the original
testimony given at Castillo’s trial — specifically, a video of woman who
previously claimed Castillo confessed to her telling police that he had never
told her he was the triggerman and a new statement from a man who now says he
inaccurately testified that Castillo confessed to him. Marzullo also mentioned
a lack of physical evidence connecting Castillo to the murder and the
unreliability of testimony from accomplices and jailhouse informants.
“I am sure that your office is inundated with defense counsel pleas for mercy,”
she wrote to the governor. “Yet, this is a request that I do not enter lightly.
From the moment of his arrest through clemency, Juan has had a litany of
lawyers who did not fully examine serious questions regarding his guilt.”
Abbott usually takes no part in death penalty cases, letting the court’s
rulings stand, but he did grant a rare commutation of sentence for Thomas
Whitaker earlier this year, stopping his execution minutes before it was set to
proceed and changing his sentence to life in prison. But that decision came
after an even rarer unanimous decision by the state’s parole board to grant
clemency and change Whitaker’s sentence.
On Monday, that parole board unanimously voted to reject Castillo’s clemency
petition, and following Abbott’s silence on the issue, he became the 6th person
executed in Texas this year, and the 551st overall since the state resumed
capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Castillo becomes the 33rd condemned
inmate to be put to death in Texas since Greg Abbott became governor in 2015.
Castillo becomes the 11th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the
USA and the 1476th overall since the nation resumed executions on Janaury 17,
1977.
Currently there are 2 executions in the USA set in June, and both are in Texas;
Clifton Williams is scheduled to be executed on June 21, and Danny Bible is set
to be executed on June 27. Thereare 4 more executions scheduled in Texas
between July 17 and September 27.
In 2017, there were 21 executions carried out in the USA, and the 11th was done
almost exactly 1 year ago, when John Ledford III was executed in Georgia on May
17.
(sources: Texas tribune & Rick Halperin)
************************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----32
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----550
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
33----------May 16-----------------Juan Castillo----------551
34---------June 21----------------Clifton Williams--------552
35---------June 27----------------Danny Bible-------------553
36---------July 17----------------Christopher Young-------554
37---------Sept. 12---------------Ruben Gutierrez---------555
38---------Sept. 26---------------Troy Clark--------------556
39---------Sept. 27---------------Daniel Acker------------557
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
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http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
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TEXAS----execution
Texas executed Juan Castillo, who said he was innocent, for 2003 San Antonio
murder
A Texas death row inmate was executed Wednesday — his 4th execution date in a
year. Though advocates and his attorneys insisted on Juan Castillo's innocence,
he lost all his fights in court and was put to death for a 2003 San Antonio
murder.
Juan Castillo was put to death Wednesday evening, ending his death sentence on
his 4th execution date within the year.
The 37-year-old was executed for the 2003 robbery and murder of Tommy Garcia
Jr. in San Antonio. The execution had been postponed three times since last
May, including a rescheduling because of Hurricane Harvey.
Castillo's advocates and attorneys had insisted on his innocence in Garcia’s
murder, pleading unsuccessfully for a last-minute 30-day stay of execution from
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott after all of his appeals were rejected in the
courts. The Texas Defender Service, a capital defense group who had recently
picked up Castillo’s case, asked Abbott for the delay to let its lawyers fully
investigate claims they said discredited the prosecution’s evidence against
Castillo — including recanted statements and video of police interrogations
that contradict testimony at trial.
But with no action from the governor, Castillo was taken into the death chamber
in Huntsville, and at 6:21 p.m., injected with a lethal dose of pentobarbital,
according to the Texas Department of Justice. 23 minutes
later, he was pronounced dead.
“To everyone that has been there for me, you know who you are,” Castillo said
in his final words. “See y’all on the other side.”
A Houston Chronicle reporter who attended the execution said Castillo added:
“Shit does burn."
Prosecutors said Castillo and 3 others lured Garcia to a secluded area in 2003
to rob him by promising him sex with one of Castillo's female accomplices. When
Garcia tried to run, Castillo shot him, according to the accomplices. Castillo
was convicted and sentenced to death in 2005.
A man who bunked near Castillo in the Bexar County jail, Gerardo Gutierrez,
also testified that Castillo had confessed to him about the murder. The
matching testimonies were enough to satisfy a jury, and Castillo was convicted
of capital murder. The 3 others involved in the crime all received lesser
charges and sentences — 1 woman is out on parole, and the other 2 got 40-year
sentences and are eligible for parole within the next 6 years, according to
criminal records.
Prosecutors at the Bexar County District Attorney’s Office remain fully
confident that Castillo was the triggerman in Garcia’s murder. Assistant
Criminal District Attorney Matt Howard said the death penalty is always a heavy
decision to weigh but that Castillo is deserving of the ultimate punishment.
“Understanding the evidence, this was one of those cases where I think the jury
came to the right conclusion” of a death sentence, Howard said.
Castillo’s 1st execution date was set for last May, but it was rescheduled for
September, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. The September
execution — set about a week after Hurricane Harvey devastated the Texas coast
— was also delayed at the request of Bexar County District Attorney Nico
LaHood, since some of Castillo’s legal team lived in Houston.
It was moved to December, and that time the courts took action after the
jailhouse informant changed his story.
In 2013, Gutierrez signed an affidavit saying that he lied in his testimony
against Castillo “to try to help myself.” The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
stopped Castillo’s December execution because of the affidavit, telling the
trial court to look into the issue of false testimony.
3 days later, the Bexar County court issued its decision: Gutierrez’s new
statement saying he lied wasn’t credible since his original testimony so
closely matched that from the others who testified against Castillo.
“Gutierrez's 2013 affidavit makes no explanation for how he, while incarcerated
in the Bexar County Adult Detention Center, independently manufactured a
version of events consistent with multiple other witnesses,” wrote Judge Maria
Teresa Herr in her quickly produced opinion.
The Court of Criminal Appeals upheld the ruling earlier this year, and Castillo
was given an execution date of May 16.
Castillo’s attorneys admonished the trial court for denouncing Gutierrez’s
affidavit without holding an evidentiary hearing or getting information from
Castillo or Gutierrez, claiming the courts denied their client meaningful
consideration on the issue. But the prosecution said the court already had
“extensive background” about the affidavit before it officially reached the
court, which accounted for the rapid decision to reject it, according to
Howard.
Still, Castillo filed a new appeal with claims that the prosecution withheld
evidence and presented false or misleading testimony. The Court of Criminal
Appeals rejected it on procedural grounds without reviewing the merits of his
claims, leaving Castillo’s attorneys to turn to their last shot, Abbott.
In the defense’s letter to the governor Tuesday, Marzullo wrote that her
organization has recently discovered new evidence that contradicts the original
testimony given at Castillo’s trial — specifically, a video of woman who
previously claimed Castillo confessed to her telling police that he had never
told her he was the triggerman and a new statement from a man who now says he
inaccurately testified that Castillo confessed to him. Marzullo also mentioned
a lack of physical evidence connecting Castillo to the murder and the
unreliability of testimony from accomplices and jailhouse informants.
“I am sure that your office is inundated with defense counsel pleas for mercy,”
she wrote to the governor. “Yet, this is a request that I do not enter lightly.
From the moment of his arrest through clemency, Juan has had a litany of
lawyers who did not fully examine serious questions regarding his guilt.”
Abbott usually takes no part in death penalty cases, letting the court’s
rulings stand, but he did grant a rare commutation of sentence for Thomas
Whitaker earlier this year, stopping his execution minutes before it was set to
proceed and changing his sentence to life in prison. But that decision came
after an even rarer unanimous decision by the state’s parole board to grant
clemency and change Whitaker’s sentence.
On Monday, that parole board unanimously voted to reject Castillo’s clemency
petition, and following Abbott’s silence on the issue, he became the 6th person
executed in Texas this year, and the 551st overall since the state resumed
capital punishment on December 7, 1982. Castillo becomes the 33rd condemned
inmate to be put to death in Texas since Greg Abbott became governor in 2015.
Castillo becomes the 11th condemned inmate to be put to death this year in the
USA and the 1476th overall since the nation resumed executions on Janaury 17,
1977.
Currently there are 2 executions in the USA set in June, and both are in Texas;
Clifton Williams is scheduled to be executed on June 21, and Danny Bible is set
to be executed on June 27. Thereare 4 more executions scheduled in Texas
between July 17 and September 27.
In 2017, there were 21 executions carried out in the USA, and the 11th was done
almost exactly 1 year ago, when John Ledford III was executed in Georgia on May
17.
(sources: Texas tribune & Rick Halperin)
************************
Executions under Greg Abbott, Jan. 21, 2015-present----32
Executions in Texas: Dec. 7, 1982----present-----550
Abbott#--------scheduled execution date-----name------------Tx. #
33----------May 16-----------------Juan Castillo----------551
34---------June 21----------------Clifton Williams--------552
35---------June 27----------------Danny Bible-------------553
36---------July 17----------------Christopher Young-------554
37---------Sept. 12---------------Ruben Gutierrez---------555
38---------Sept. 26---------------Troy Clark--------------556
39---------Sept. 27---------------Daniel Acker------------557
(sources: TDCJ & Rick Halperin)
_______________________________________________
A service courtesy of Washburn University School of Law www.washburnlaw.edu
DeathPenalty mailing list
***@lists.washlaw.edu
http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/listinfo/deathpenalty
Unsubscribe: http://lists.washlaw.edu/mailman/options/d