Execution stay granted for man sentenced to death in Brownsville murder case | KAMR

BROWNSVILLE, Texas (ValleyCentral) — The U.S. Supreme Court granted a stay of execution for a man scheduled to be executed Tuesday afternoon.

Ruben Gutierrez was actually scheduled to be executed a few moments ago. He was previously found guilty of the murder of 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison in 1998.

The records show that Justice Samuel Alito requested a stay of execution and remanded the case to the court pending a decision on the motion for leave to appeal.

“If the application for leave to appeal is rejected, this stay shall automatically expire,” the documents state.

Gutierrez’s lawyers asked for a stay of execution on the grounds that the state was denying him the right to a DNA test that would prove that the death penalty did not violate his rights.

On September 5, 1998, Gutierrez and two other men entered Harrison’s home to steal money from her safe. She was repeatedly beaten and stabbed multiple times in the head. Police added that she was stabbed 13 times with a screwdriver before she died from her injuries.

His legal team argues that Gutierrez never entered Harrison’s home and had no idea anyone could be harmed. The lawsuit says Gutierrez requested DNA testing of items from the crime scene, including a bloodstained shirt belonging to Harrison’s nephew, Harrison’s fingernail scrapings, loose hairs and various blood samples.

“These items were collected by detectives at the crime scene and remain preserved because they contain biological material that may provide information about who was in Harrison’s home during the crime,” the document states. “Yet this crucial evidence was never tested.”

If the application for leave to appeal is granted, the stay will end with the announcement of the judgment of the Supreme Court.