Supreme Court to Hear Texas Death Row Challenge to DNA Testing Rules

The justices stayed Ruben Gutierrez’s execution on June 16, minutes before it was to be carried out.

Death row inmate Ruben Gutierrez. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP

The U.S. Supreme Court decided on Oct. 4 to hear the death row appeal of Ruben Gutierrez, who argues that DNA testing of the crime scene evidence would clear him.

The court granted the petition in Gutierrez v. Saenz without comment. No justices dissented. The respondent, Luis Saenz, is the district attorney for Cameron County, Texas.