Execution Report: Arnold Prieto

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A jury found Prieto guilty of capital murder in March 1995 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in December 1998. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

Jesse Hernandez was one day short of his 17th birthday at the time of the murders, and therefore was not eligible for the death penalty. He was sentenced to life in prison. Charges against Guadalupe Hernandez were dropped for lack of evidence.

Prieto declined requests for interviews from the news media while on death row, but he did write several letters to an anti-death-penalty group, who posted them on their web site. In the most recent one, he described the despair he felt when he read his signed death warrant and saw the execution date. He also complained about the cameras in prison and the "shakedowns" conducted every 90 days to search for contraband. He stated that his court-appointed attorney had not visited him in the two months since his death warrant was signed, but he did meet for an hour and a half with a parole officer. He knew, however, that his chances of receiving clemency were low.

"As you can see," Prieto wrote, "the cards are stacked up against me. Nothing new, really, since they have been stacked from the very beginning."

Prieto's earlier letters were more philosophical, writing about such topics as love and truth. None of his writings referred to his crime or any of his past actions, nor did he express any sense of remorse or regret about his life.

No last-minute appeals were filed to try to stop Prieto's execution.

Prieto visited with his mother on the morning of his execution. He was offered a last meal of barbecue chopped beef, pinto beans, and carrots with tea or water.

Prieto invited his sister, two friends, and a spiritual advisor to attend his execution from a viewing room. He smiled and nodded at them from the death chamber. The Rodriguezes' four sons and a daughter-in-law also witnessed Prieto's death from another viewing room. Prieto did not look in their direction.

"There are no endings - only beginnings," Prieto said in his brief last statement. "Love y'all. See you soon." The lethal injection was then started. Prieto then announced, "I can smell it ... Woah," before losing consciousness. He was pronounced dead at 6:31 p.m.

Prieto's execution was the first one carried out during the tenure of Governor Greg Abbott, who was elected in November 2014 and sworn into office on 20 January 2015. Abbott's predecessor as governor was Rick Perry, who declined to seek re-election to a fourth term. During Perry's 14-year tenure as governor, 279 Texas prisoners were executed.

For the preceding 12 years, Abbott was Texas' attorney general, and as such was responsible for representing the state of Texas in the federal courts, including in death penalty cases. 231 Texas prisoners were executed during Abbott's tenure as attorney general.

Abbott's successor as attorney general is Ken Paxton, who won the election last November during his first term as a Texas state senator. Prieto's execution was the first one carried out during his tenure as attorney general.

By David Carson. Posted on 22 January 2015.
Sources: Texas Attorney General's office, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, court documents, Associated Press, Austin Chronicle, Huntsville Item, London Daily Mail, San Antonio Express-News, minutesbeforesix.blogspot.com.