Execution Report: Ramon Hernandez

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In August 2002, while awaiting trial for Rosado's murder, Hernandez went missing from his jail cell. A makeshift dummy was found in his cell. He was discovered in another cell, which had a hole carved through some cinder block and bricks, leading to the parking lot.

A jury convicted Hernandez of capital murder in October 2002 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in March 2005. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Santos Minjarez was convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. He died from an illness in January 2012.

Asel Abdygapparova was convicted of capital murder in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison. A federal court ruled in 2007 that she did not receive a fair trial, and overturned the conviction. As of March 2012, she was still in custody awaiting retrial. Her and Hernandez's son, Ramon, now lives with his older step-sister in Kazakhstan.

In his last statement at his execution, Hernandez expressed love to his brother, who watched from a viewing room, and said he was "sorry for putting you through all this." He also glanced at relatives of Rosa Rosado, Sarah Gonzalez, and Priscilla Almares and said, "I'm very sorry for all the pain." He also encouraged the other prisoners on death row to "keep fighting; don't give up." The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:38 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 15 November 2012. Date correction made on 28 January 2013. Grammar correction made on 3 June 2015.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, San Antonio Express-News.