Execution Report: Gustavo Garcia

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A jury found Garcia guilty of capital murder in March 1991 and subsequently sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals confirmed the conviction and sentence in March 1996.

Christopher Vargas was convicted of two counts of capital murder and sentenced to life in prison. He remains in custody as of this writing. Shelia Phanae Loe was convicted of conspiracy to commit aggravated robbery and was sentenced to 20 years in prison. She was paroled in June 1993, after serving 16 months of her sentence. She has since been convicted of felony forgery and misdemeanor theft.

On Thanksgiving Day 1998, Garcia, then 26, and six other Texas death row inmates attempted to escape from the Ellis Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. The inmates cut through a recreation yard fence with a hacksaw blade, climbed to a roof, and then crawled across the length of the roof. They then dropped to the ground, dashed across a grassy area, and scaled the first of two 10-foot chain-link fences topped with razor wire before guards in nearby towers spotted them and opened fire. One inmate, Martin Gurule, 29, made it over the second fence and disappeared into the night. He drowned shortly afterward; his body was found nearby in a deep creek a week after the escape.

Gurule was the first prisoner to escape Texas death row since a member of Bonnie and Clyde's gang broke out in 1934. Following the escape, death row was moved to a newer facility now known as the Polunsky Unit.

Garcia described his escape attempt to an Associated Press reporter in March 1999. "I was surprised at how easy it was," he said. "I know a lot of people thought there was this big old conspiracy - officers helping, outside help - it was nothing like that."

"I don't regret trying to escape," he said. "It was worth the try. At least I can say I tried." He said he was sorry when he learned that Gurule had died because if he had gotten away, "It would have made everything worthwhile for me."

In June 2000, the U.S. Supreme Court vacated the death sentence of another Texas prisoner, Hugo Saldano, because one of the state's witnesses, psychologist Dr. Walter Quijano, testified that Saldano's Hispanic ethnicity was one factor that contributed to him being a future danger to society. Following the Supreme Court's ruling, Texas Attorney General John Cornyn identified six other cases in which Quijano had given similar testimony and the defendant was sentenced to death. One of those was Garcia's. All six death sentences were vacted.

Garcia was given a new punishment hearing before a new jury in March 2001, and the jury once again sentenced him to death. The Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed that sentence in November 2003. All of Garcia's subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Craig Turski's parents and widow died during Garcia's 24-year stay on death row, as did one of his brothers. His other brother chose not to attend the execution. Gregory Martin's sister, brother-in-law, and a friend did witness it.

"God bless you. Stay strong. I'm done," Garcia said in his last statement. He added that he loved his mother and other family, none of whom were there. The lethal injection was then started. He was pronounced dead at 6:26 p.m.

By David Carson. Posted on 17 February 2016.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, Huntsville Item.