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for clemency and publicly released the report of the study on September 12, 2000.
Petitioner now asks that you commute his death sentence to life imprisonment without
the possibility of parole. He seeks clemency based on the following claims: there is evidence of
racial and geographic bias in the implementation of the federal death penalty; his sentencing was
unfair because the jury was not advised that the only realistic alternative to a death sentence was
a sentence of life imprisonment without parole and was allowed to consider evidence of
unadjudicated homicides, including homicides that occurred in Mexico; his sentence is
disproportionate to the sentences imposed on his codefendants and to those imposed on other
offenders who committed death-eligible offenses but were not charged with capital offenses or
sentenced to death; the United States' extradition treaty with Mexico was violated by effecting
petitioner's deportation from Mexico without advising the Government of Mexico that he would
face capital charges in the United States; and a sentence of life imprisonment without parole
would adequately protect the public while avoiding the devastating effect his execution would
have upon his family. He is represented in the clemency proceeding by Gregory W. Wiercioch
of the Texas Defender Service and Bruce W. Gilchrist of the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, along
with several other attorneys of the firm. They submitted an application for clemency,
accompanied by a lengthy brief with numerous exhibits, and made an oral presentation on
petitioner's behalf. Petitioner's personal plea for mercy is included in the videotape submitted as
an exhibit to the brief. In addition, he wrote a letter to you in December 1999 seeking clemency,
which states in part: "I take full responsibility for my actions, I know right from wrong, and I am
sorry for the pain and grief that I cause[d] on the victims['] famil[ies], including my family." He
states that he asks God for forgiveness and you for mercy.
The United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas opposes clemency, as does
the Criminal Division of this Department. The trial judge declined to make a recommendation
about clemency, although he offered a number of observations about petitioner's case. Family
members of two of the victims made an oral presentation to the Pardon Attorney in which they
strongly opposed clemency and asked that the execution be carried out.
The last federal execution in the United States took place in 1963. Petitioner's case
presents the first occasion a President has had to consider clemency in a capital case in more than
35 years. For the reasons set forth in this report, we recommend that you grant a six-month
reprieve.
I.
Summary of essential facts:
From the early 1980's to 1992, petitioner, using a group of childhood acquaintances from
his old neighborhood, ran a marijuana-trafficking organization that came to import thousands of
pounds of the drug into the United States. From his base in Brownsville, Texas, petitioner
dispatched workers to travel to Mexico to pick up drugs and deliver them to confederates in
¹The facts set forth in this report are taken from a number of sources, including: the court opinions in
petitioner's case; the briefs of the defendant and the Government concerning the direct appeal of his conviction and
concerning his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255; the transcript of the punishment phase of petitioner's trial; various
court documents, including the indictment, the judgment, and the presentence report prepared concerning
petitioner's non-capital offenses; the clemency petition and the comments on it offered by the United States
Attorney, the Criminal Division of this Department, the sentencing judge, and the victims' families; consultation
with the State Department; documents filed in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; the Department's
report of its statistical survey on the implementation of the federal death penalty; and various newspaper articles.
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"ocrText": "2\nfor clemency and publicly released the report of the study on September 12, 2000.\nPetitioner now asks that you commute his death sentence to life imprisonment without\nthe possibility of parole. He seeks clemency based on the following claims: there is evidence of\nracial and geographic bias in the implementation of the federal death penalty; his sentencing was\nunfair because the jury was not advised that the only realistic alternative to a death sentence was\na sentence of life imprisonment without parole and was allowed to consider evidence of\nunadjudicated homicides, including homicides that occurred in Mexico; his sentence is\ndisproportionate to the sentences imposed on his codefendants and to those imposed on other\noffenders who committed death-eligible offenses but were not charged with capital offenses or\nsentenced to death; the United States' extradition treaty with Mexico was violated by effecting\npetitioner's deportation from Mexico without advising the Government of Mexico that he would\nface capital charges in the United States; and a sentence of life imprisonment without parole\nwould adequately protect the public while avoiding the devastating effect his execution would\nhave upon his family. He is represented in the clemency proceeding by Gregory W. Wiercioch\nof the Texas Defender Service and Bruce W. Gilchrist of the law firm of Hogan & Hartson, along\nwith several other attorneys of the firm. They submitted an application for clemency,\naccompanied by a lengthy brief with numerous exhibits, and made an oral presentation on\npetitioner's behalf. Petitioner's personal plea for mercy is included in the videotape submitted as\nan exhibit to the brief. In addition, he wrote a letter to you in December 1999 seeking clemency,\nwhich states in part: \"I take full responsibility for my actions, I know right from wrong, and I am\nsorry for the pain and grief that I cause[d] on the victims['] famil[ies], including my family.\" He\nstates that he asks God for forgiveness and you for mercy.\nThe United States Attorney for the Southern District of Texas opposes clemency, as does\nthe Criminal Division of this Department. The trial judge declined to make a recommendation\nabout clemency, although he offered a number of observations about petitioner's case. Family\nmembers of two of the victims made an oral presentation to the Pardon Attorney in which they\nstrongly opposed clemency and asked that the execution be carried out.\nThe last federal execution in the United States took place in 1963. Petitioner's case\npresents the first occasion a President has had to consider clemency in a capital case in more than\n35 years. For the reasons set forth in this report, we recommend that you grant a six-month\nreprieve.\nI.\nSummary of essential facts:\nFrom the early 1980's to 1992, petitioner, using a group of childhood acquaintances from\nhis old neighborhood, ran a marijuana-trafficking organization that came to import thousands of\npounds of the drug into the United States. From his base in Brownsville, Texas, petitioner\ndispatched workers to travel to Mexico to pick up drugs and deliver them to confederates in\n¹The facts set forth in this report are taken from a number of sources, including: the court opinions in\npetitioner's case; the briefs of the defendant and the Government concerning the direct appeal of his conviction and\nconcerning his petition under 28 U.S.C. § 2255; the transcript of the punishment phase of petitioner's trial; various\ncourt documents, including the indictment, the judgment, and the presentence report prepared concerning\npetitioner's non-capital offenses; the clemency petition and the comments on it offered by the United States\nAttorney, the Criminal Division of this Department, the sentencing judge, and the victims' families; consultation\nwith the State Department; documents filed in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights; the Department's\nreport of its statistical survey on the implementation of the federal death penalty; and various newspaper articles."
}