Execution Report: Vincent Gutierrez

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A jury convicted Gutierrez of capital murder in March 1997 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in April 2000. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Randy Baez Arroyo was also convicted of capital murder and sentenced to death. His sentence was commuted to life in prison in June 2005 after the U.S. Supreme Court decreed that executing prisoners who were under 18 on the date of their crimes is unconstitutional.

Christopher Suaste was convicted of aggravated robbery and sentenced to 35 years in prison. He remains in custody as of this writing.

In an interview from death row given in November 2006, Gutierrez said that he was afraid of going to prison if Cobo escaped and could identify him. "So I went ahead and shot him twice," Gutierrez said. He said he felt no remorse over Cobo's death. "In order for me to be remorseful, I have to feel for somebody, and I didn't know him, so I don't feel for him."

In the interview, Gutierrez also warned that if he got out of prison, "I'd create havoc in Texas."

Sister Doris Moore, a nun who corresponded with Gutierrez as a pen pal, said in an interview that such statements from Gutierrez are either false bravado, or possibly a symptom of undiagnosed bipolar disorder. The "real" Gutierrez, she said, prays, talks about the Bible, and writes smiley faces on his letters.

"I'd like to tell everybody I'm sorry the situation happened. My bad. Everybody is here because of what happened," Gutierrez said in his last statement, without looking at the victim's relatives who witnessed his execution. Media witnesses reported that it was unclear whether his remarks were intended to be an apology, and if it so, to whom it was offered. Gutierrez then thanked his friends and relatives and expressed love to them. He laughed as said to his brother, Phillip, "My brother, where's a stunt double when you need one?" He said a brief prayer as the lethal injection was started. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m.

"That's a good man, right there. A damn good man," Phillip Gutierrez said afterward. "He paid his debt like a man."

Sister Moore added, "This is so inhuman. We're just like terrorists."

By David Carson. Posted on 29 March 2007. Typographical error corrected on 3 June 2014.
Sources: Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Texas Attorney General's office, Associated Press, Huntsville Item, San Antonio Express-News, court documents.