In 1996, Ramiro Hernandez Llanas was in a Mexican prison for bludgeoning a man to death. He escaped from prison and fled to the United States where he earned the death penalty for killing Kerrville, Texas rancher Glen Lich and then repeatedly raping Lich’s wife. At 6:28 p.m. April 9, Llanas was executed by the State of Texas.
Breitbart Texas recently reported that Llanas attempted to stop his execution with an appeal to a federal district court in Houston. Activist Judge Vanessa Gillmore, a Bill Clinton appointee, granted the appeal and ordered Texas to halt the execution. Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott quickly appealed the judge’s decision to the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals who reversed the judge’s decision, setting the stage for the execution.
Lucy Wilke, Assistant District Attorney for Kerr County, Kerrville, Texas said in a phone interview with Breitbart Texas that she remembered the case quite well. She and District Attorney Bruce Curry co-prosecuted the crime committed against a local rancher, Glen Lich. Ramiro Hernandez Llanas was serving time in a Mexican prison for bludgeoning a man to death, according to Wilke. In 1996, she said, “he escaped from prison in Mexico and came directly into the United States.” Wilke confirmed his status as an illegal alien. Wilke confirmed that Mr. Lich was also bludgeoned to death with a crowbar by Llanas.
“Llanas threatened to kill a jailer with a shank, but no one was hurt in the incident,” Wilke explained. She said he was convicted of the assault and sentenced to twenty years in prison.
NBC News reported that after Llanas killed Mr. Lich, “He then ransacked the Lich residence and repeatedly sexually assaulted Lich’s wife at knife-point.”
Mexico tried to halt the execution claiming that Texas has not met its international obligations concerning the treatment of foreign nationals taken into custody.
In his final moments, Llanas expressed regret for his actions saying, “I am sorry for what I have done.” Referring to the family of Mr. Lich, Llanas stated, “To the family of my boss, I love you.”
The AP reported that on April 9, the Mexican government’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement condemning the execution. “This is the fourth case of a Mexican being executed in clear violation of the judgment of the International Court of Justice,” the ministry said. “The Government of Mexico expresses its most vigorous protest at the failure to comply.”
The first of the four cases mentioned by the Mexican Ministry was that of Jose Medellin who was executed in 2008 after then President George W. Bush joined forces with the World Court in an attempt to block his execution. Then-Texas Solicitor General, Ted Cruz, argued Texas’ case before the U.S. Supreme Court and won.
The legal dose of the drugs were administered to Llanas who drifted off to sleep. He was pronounced dead after eleven minutes.
Follow Bob Price on Twitter @BobPriceBBTX
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