Innocent and on death row
GABRIEL GONZALEZ is an innocent man on Texas' death row. Gabriel was 21 years old when he was sentenced to die for the murder of a pawnshop owner. He was not at the scene of the crime when the crime was committed. As of now, he is sitting in a cell in San Antonio, Texas, awaiting a hearing that will decide if he spends the rest of his life in prison an innocent man--or if he will die, an innocent man, at the hands of the "texecutioner."
The Supreme Court decision in April of this year, reaffirming the legality of death by torture (lethal injection), has made the fight for abolition more urgent. Gabriel Gonzalez is just one of the many victims of the racist death penalty.
Gabriel was failed by a society that glorifies violence of the state, but punishes those same crimes perpetrated by those who make up the so-called "underbelly" of society: minorities and the poor. Gabriel grew up in a Texas ghetto and was a victim of abuse by his father and stepfather. At the age of 14, he turned to the Crips gang for a family he couldn't find elsewhere. At the age of 15, he left his abusive home for good. With not much of an education and no job prospects, he made his money with the Crips.
His situation is not that different from many stories you hear from death row inmates. On July 19, 2004, Gabriel spent the night drinking and smoking with some acquaintances at his girlfriend's house. He went out to eat late with some of them, and passed out drunk in the backseat of the car. Gabriel's girlfriend left him in the backseat since she could not carry him into the apartment by herself. This was at 4 a.m. Later that morning, four teenagers used the car to rob a pawnshop, with Gabriel still passed out in the back.
The pawnshop owner was murdered, the cash register was emptied and weapons were stolen. During the following three days, everyone was arrested, including Gabriel. An eyewitness picked Gabriel out of a suggestive photo lineup where his was the only picture of a Latino.
In an effort to appear "tough on crime," the district attorney and the media highly publicized the case against Gabriel. Irregularities and corruption plagued his trial. He was shackled during proceedings, a violation of his right to due process. A jury is hard-pressed to presume innocence in a defendant who is restrained like a dangerous animal.
The one eyewitness at the trial claimed to have seen the profile of the driver, yet he was unable to identify Gabriel until the third try. None of Gabriel's fingerprints were found at the scene, and none of the spoils of the robbery were found on his person or at his home.
All of the evidence points to others having committed the crime. Nonetheless, Gabriel has been sitting in a prison cell no bigger than a closet, for 14 years, waiting to get his chance to live a normal life. You get the justice you pay for so, for the poor there is not much.
Gabriel was recently moved to San Antonio to receive a new sentence. His hearing will be next year. We now have a second chance to fight. If he receives a sentence of life in prison, he will have one year to appeal for a new trial.
As it stands, the Texas criminal injustice system recently has been under more scrutiny than ever. Thanks to the fight to save Stan Tookie Williams and the victory for Kenneth Foster Jr., more people are turning against the death penalty.
Gabriel Gonzalez deserves justice--and the racist death penalty must be abolished.
Karen Burke, Austin, Texas
