After a lengthy wait for a U.S. Supreme Court decision Tuesday night, 33-year-old Jose Medellin was executed for his part in the 1993 gang-rape and murder of two teenage girls.
The lethal injection began flowing at 9:48 p.m., and Medellin was pronounced dead at 9:57 p.m.
Medellin’s execution was scheduled to take place at 6 p.m. Tuesday, but at that point, the Supreme Court had not yet released its ruling on an appeal filed by Medellin’s attorneys days before.
At approximately 9:20 p.m., a split decision by the court was released indicating that the court had dismissed the attorneys’ request for a stay of execution, giving the state the go-ahead to carry out the lethal injection.
Without any further appeals pending, Medellin was taken from his holding cell in the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Walls Unit and prepared for the lethal injection.
According to Michelle Lyons, TDCJ public information officer, Medellin was apologetic in his last statement, addressing the families of his victims and saying “I love you” to his personal witnesses.
“I am sorry my actions caused pain, and I hope this bring the closure you seek,” Medellin said Tuesday night at approximately 9:48 p.m. “Never harbor hate — I love you.”
While making his final statement, Medellin appeared to have tears in his eyes as he twice told his personal witnesses he loved them.
As the lethal solution took effect, Medellin’s eyes appeared to be slightly open.
Medellin’s case gained international attention when Mexican officials complained that its nationals on death row — of which Medellin was only one of approximately 50 — were not informed of their right to consular access and assistance during trial.
That alleged denial, Mexico claimed, was a violation of rights guaranteed in the Vienna Convention.
Following the execution, Medellin’s attorney Sandra Babcock made a statement to the multitude of local and international media who had gathered outside of the Walls Unit.
“In a situation like this, it’s hard to talk about what’s next,” Babcock said. “Now, more than ever, it is important to think not only about the fate of one Mexican (national), but about the safety of Americans who travel abroad to strange lands.
“It is now imperative that Congress act to restore the country’s reputation.”
Medellin was originally sentenced to death after he and five others gang-raped and murdered 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena and 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman in Houston.
The girls walked past Medellin and five other gang members during a gang initiation, and according to reports, each of the gang members took active roles in the assaults and murders of both girls.
Medellin was 18 years old at the time of the murders.
Pena’s father, Adolfo Pena, spoke briefly following the execution to express his gratitude to Gov. Rick Perry.
“We feel relieved — 15 years is a long time to get justice for Jennifer and Elizabeth,” he said. “We’re just looking forward every day to that last execution.”
However, he and the other victim witnesses would not speak to any of the Hispanic media present.
Pena specifically said to one reporter, “I don’t have anything to say to you, sir.”
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