Matt Peterson
Opponents of the death penalty came to the Huntsville “Walls” Unit on Tuesday evening to protest the execution of Angel Maturino Resendiz, but they were practically outnumbered by the amount of media from around the state covering the controversial case.
Gregory Compean, owner of Compean Funeral Home in Houston, was handling Resendiz’s funeral services. Compean has done so for other inmates, but said the coverage of this execution has brought more media than he had seen before.
“This is probably a little heavier than the last time, because of the notoriety of Mr. Resendiz,” he said.
News vans from network TV stations in Houston, as well as KBTX Channel 3 from College Station, WOAI Channel 4 from San Antonio and KEYE Channel 43 and KTBC Channel 7 in Austin were parked near the “Walls” Unit and 15 news cameras were ready to capture footage of the families walking to and from the unit.
Dennis Longmire, a Huntsville resident who regularly protests capital punishment outside of the “Walls” Unit said he has seen this kind of a response before, but only in the most high-profile cases.
“There have been a couple, like Karla Faye Tucker and Gary Graham and those highly publicized media events,” Longmire said. “What’s unique about this is that there are five or six broadcast media trucks and only about 30 people on the corner. Usually there would be a lot more of a crowd.”
Compean also noticed there were fewer people protesting than might be expected for such a high-profile case.
“This is the fourth one I have been at, and it seems rather calm compared to the last couple I was at,” he said. “There doesn’t seem to be as many people, but I guess the heat has something to do with that.”
Whether there are five people, 30 people or 100 people protesting, those who are there are hoping their voices will make a difference in the current system. Patrick Williams, who drove from College Station to protest the execution, said it is important to recognize the value of all lives.
“It’s really about promoting the culture of life,” he said.
