Richard Hinojosa was executed by the State of Texas for the murder of Terry Wright
According to court documents Richard Hinojosa would break into his neighbors home, Terry Wright, he would sexually assault her before stabbing her multiple times causing her death
Richard Hinojosa would be arrested, convicted and sentenced to death
Richard Hinojosa would be executed on August 17 2006 by lethal injection
Richard Hinojosa Photos
Richard Hinojosa FAQ
When Was Richard Hinojosa Executed
Richard Hinojosa was executed on August 17 2006
Richard Hinojosa Case
A San Antonio man with a previous conviction for manslaughter was executed today for the abduction, rape and fatal stabbing of a woman more than 12 years ago. Richard Hinojosa expressed love for his family and asked his victim’s family to find peace in their heart. I am going to be free. I am going to heaven,'' Hinojosa said from the death chamber gurney as thunder and lightning crackled outside.I pray for you. Please find peace in your heart,” he said looking at the parents, a brother and two aunts of his victim. “I know you may hate me for whatever reason. The Lord says hate no one. I hope you find peace in your heart. I know my words cannot help you. I truly mean what I say.”
He indicated to the prison warden that he had finished his statement, telling him, “Kick the tires and light the fire. I’m going home to see my son and my mom.” He began chanting a prayer, repeatedly invoking Yahweh as the lethal drugs were being administered. Eight minutes later at 6:19 p.m. CDT he was pronounced dead.
Hinojosa, 44, acknowledged gunning down a man in 1986 but insisted he wasn’t responsible for the slaying eight years later of 29-year-old Terry Wright, who lived next door. He spent 2½ years in prison for the voluntary manslaughter conviction, then received a death sentence for Wright’s killing.
Hinojosa’s execution was the 18th this year in Texas — one short of last year’s total in the nation’s most active capital punishment state. Two more executions are scheduled for this month and at least six other inmates have dates through the remainder of the year. If all are carried out, the total still would fall well short of the record 40 executions in Texas in 2000.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday denied Hinojosa’s appeal that challenged the use of the lethal drugs in the execution process as unconstitutionally cruel. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles this week also refused a request for commutation or a temporary reprieve. “At least I know where I’m going,” Hinojosa, smiling and sounding upbeat, said Wednesday from the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Polunsky Unit, home of the state’s death row.
DNA identified Hinojosa as the only one of nearly 20 million people who fit a profile of sperm taken from Wright. The former custodian at a club at San Antonio’s old Brooks Air Force Base said his sex with the victim was consensual. The same argument was raised at his trial. Prosecutors, however, disputed the contentions and pointed to other evidence that showed the intruder broke into Wright’s home by climbing into an atrium and that footprints at the scene came from a distinctive athletic shoe worn by Hinojosa.
Hinojosa also argued that two men seen in the southeast San Antonio neighborhood May 10, 1994, the date of Wright’s attack, were more likely responsible for her killing. “If two people were there, there would have been evidence,” said Jim Kopp, the Bexar County assistant district attorney who prosecuted Hinojosa.
Evidence showed Wright was taken from her home, stabbed 11 times, thrown into the trunk of her car and dumped in a secluded area known for illegal trash dumping. Co-workers at the dental office Wright managed called her father when she failed to show up for work. Her father found a window broken at her house, the place ransacked and phone lines cut. Her car was found abandoned and broken down. Fluid from a broken transmission line led police to a dirt road, and search dogs then were used to find the body.
Hinojosa said he was being questioned by police for assaulting his wife when detectives began interrogating him about the Wright slaying and he became a scapegoat for her death. “I already had a criminal record for taking someone’s life,” he said. In the manslaughter case, Hinojosa said the victim had been harassing his family. “He showed up at the house and I killed him,” he said. “He had a weapon in his hand.”
Hinojosa said he was part Cherokee and Choctaw, and his American Indian ancestry earned him the nickname “Hawkeye” on death row.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/4124181.html
