The US Supreme Court has ruled in favor of a Texas death row inmate, Ruben Gutierrez, who is seeking to have his DNA evidence tested in an effort to prove his innocence. The 6-3 decision allows Gutierrez to challenge the constitutionality of the state’s DNA testing law, which he claims will provide evidence that he did not kill 85-year-old Escolastica Harrison in 1998.
Gutierrez was previously blocked from requesting DNA testing in 2011 by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, but he filed a new suit in 2020 after being denied his request. The Supreme Court’s ruling means that Gutierrez can now proceed with his case, which seeks to have the DNA evidence tested to prove his innocence.
The court’s decision was based on a previous Supreme Court ruling from 2023, Reed v. Goertz, where a state death row inmate sought similar DNA testing. In this case, Justice Sonya Sotomayor delivered the opinion for the court, which largely relied on the previous ruling.
Gutierrez’s lawyer, Shawn Nolan, welcomed the decision, saying that it “makes clear” that Gutierrez should have access to the testing. The district attorney’s office had argued that a negative DNA test would not make Gutierrez ineligible for the death penalty because of a law that allows defendants to be found guilty if they assist in a violent crime.
The case has sparked concerns about the fairness of the justice system, particularly regarding the use of DNA evidence in capital cases. Justice Samuel Alito dissented from the majority opinion, arguing that the precedent established in Reed’s case should not be applied in this instance.
Gutierrez and two other suspects were accused of planning to rob Harrison, but each implicated the others for the murder. One suspect, Rene Garcia, pleaded guilty and is serving a life sentence, while another, Pedro Gracia, was released from jail on a $75,000 bond but has been wanted by authorities since.
The decision now allows Gutierrez’s case to move forward to challenge the state’s law in the 5th Circuit. The district attorney has expressed confidence that he will still win the case and Gutierrez’s execution will proceed.
Source: https://www.texastribune.org/2025/06/26/texas-death-row-ruben-gutierrez-supreme-court