Alex Hernandez said he and his family want his aunt to find peace.

Hernandez’s aunt — Escolastica Harrison — was robbed and killed in Brownsville in 1998.

Ruben Gutierrez was convicted for her death in 1999 and has been on death row since. He's been granted a stay of execution three times for different reasons.

“It's heartbreaking… we want this to come to an end,” Hernandez said. “I think every time that we have to relive this — it's brought up by the court or the execution — the whole family feels it."

Gutierrez claims he was only involved in the robbery, not Harrison’s murder, and that DNA evidence will prove his claim. 

On Monday, Gutierrez’s legal team went before the U.S. Supreme Court to appeal his death sentence to request DNA testing of evidence.

READ MORE: U.S. Supreme Court hears Texas death row inmate’s appeal for DNA test of evidence

Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz said this is the third time Gutierrez has made the request.

“So this is not about DNA testing after a conviction, this is about delaying," Saenz said.

Gutierrez sued Saenz to order the DNA testing. 

Saenz argued that Gutierrez had the opportunity to ask for DNA testing during the initial trial, but refused.

Saenz was in the room during oral arguments in the Supreme Court.

“I keep fighting for the victim,” Saenz said. “You sit there for two hours and it's frustrating because all you hear is ‘Gutierrez, Gutierrez, Gutierrez’ — and I feel like raising my hand and saying ‘What about Escolastica Harrison? What about my victim? What about her family that has gone through all this anguish several times already?’"

Gutierrez is requesting a strand of hair, a towel or t-shirt, and fingernail clippings be tested. His legal team said he should be entitled to that DNA testing. 

“What we believe it would show is that he was not the person who did the killing… if he was not the person who did the killing then he should not be executed for it,” Chief of the Capital Habeas Unit, Community Federal Defender Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Shawn Nolan said. 

The U.S. Supreme Court should come down with their opinion by June 2025. They can allow the DNA testing and send the decision back to the lower courts, or they can deny the request. 

If the request is denied, another execution date would be set for Gutierrez.  

Hernandez said his family wants the uncertainty to end. 

“Something should happen, but we don't know what's gonna happen, it's the not knowing that's killing us,” 

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