January 31, 2006

Texas

Jaime Elizalde Jr., a Hispanic man, faces execution in Texas on Jan. 31, 2006 for the shooting deaths of Juan Saenz Guajardo and Marcos Sanchez Vasquez, both Hispanic men.  Elizalde, his father Jaime Elizalde Sr., Guajardo, and Vasquez reportedly had an argument at a bar in Houston.  Elizalde Sr. convinced Guajardo and Vasquez to come outside where Elizalde Jr. is said to have shot both men.  Elizalde was 22 years old at the time of the crime.

At trial, the bar’s manager testified that he had been standing outside and saw Elizalde shoot both men.  However initially that same witness had told authorities that he was playing pool inside the bar with another man and did not go outside until after hearing gun shots.  At trial, the statement that he had been playing pool was corroborated by the man he had been playing pool with.  The bar’s manager claims that he changed his initial statement because the police had pressured and threatened him with jail time. 

At the sentencing trial, Elizalde’s jury was not made fully aware of sentencing options.  They were given the choices of a life sentence or the death penalty.  However, they were not told that if sentenced to life Elizalde would not receive parole for 40 years.  Perhaps if the jury had known that Elizalde would not be paroled in less than 40 years they would have chose a life sentence instead of the death penalty.

Since his trial, Elizalde has claimed that he did not have adequate counsel at trial.  However, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals held that although Elizalde had a right to “competent counsel”, the law only requires “that counsel shall be ‘competent’ at the time he is appointed.”  According to the Texas Court of Criminal appeals, “although Texas does recognize a limited right to competent counsel, it does not recognize a right to effective assistance of counsel.”  Consequently, as long as Elizalde’s lawyer was deemed competent at the time of appointment, Texas does not require that that lawyer do an effective job of representing Elizalde.  Unfortunately later appeals courts have agreed with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals’ interpretation of Texas’ laws regarding competent counsel.

Elizalde was 22 years old at the time of the crime.  The only first-hand eyewitness was unreliable at best.  Additionally there are issues with jury instruction at sentencing and with Elizalde’s trial counsel.  Under theses circumstances, Elizalde should not be executed. 

Please write Gov. Rick Perry requesting that Jaime Elizalde’s sentence be commuted.