Cameron County inmate Ruben Gutierrez is alive after the Supreme Court of the United States stops his execution just minutes before he was scheduled to die.

Alex Hernandez, the nephew of the woman Gutierrez was convicted of killing, was emotional following the decision from the Supreme Court.

"We want to remember Escolastica the way she was. You know, give her pillar of the community, not just a victim of somebody's crime," Alex Hernandez said.

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Hernandez travelled to Huntsville to watch Gutierrez's execution, but 15 minutes before Gutierrez was scheduled to face the death penalty, it was halted.

"It's just devastating news, you know? It's already been over two and a half decades waiting for this to happen," Hernandez said.

Hernandez was Escolastica Harrison's nephew. She was a retired Brownsville teacher who was robbed and murdered in her home in 1998.

Gutierrez was convicted and sentenced to death row for his role, a case the Cameron County District Attorney's Office wanted to close.

"Quite frankly, [we're] very upset about the court's decision," Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz said.

Saenz was also in Huntsville for the execution. He says he is disappointed Escolastica's family has to go through this again.

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"They shouldn't do this, they had a lot of time to render a decision to us to prevent this last minute proceeding, I mean it's just heartbreaking," Saenz said.

Gutierrez and his team argue DNA testing should be done since this is a capital murder case. 

Gutierrez was convicted of the murder of Harrison in 1999. He, along with two other men, robbed her of tens of thousands of dollars and stabbed her to death with screwdrivers. One of the men is serving a life sentence, the other is still a wanted fugitive.

Escolastica's surviving family says the fight for closures is not over.

"We want this over, we want a new beginning," Hernandez said.

This case is now in the hands of the Supreme Court. They will decide if they want to review Gutierrez's appeal. If they don't, the hold on his execution would be lifted and rescheduled again.