Bio

Adolph Gil Hernandez was born on September 1, 1950, in Lubbock County, Texas. Texas Department of Criminal Justice records list him as Hispanic, 5 feet 5 inches tall, and 175 pounds. His listed prior occupation was barber, and his education level was recorded as seven years.

Before the murder of Elizabeth Alvarado, Hernandez had a significant criminal record. TDCJ records show prior prison entries from Lubbock County, including burglary convictions, a burglary of habitation conviction, and a later return as a parole violator with a concurrent sentence for unauthorized use of a motor vehicle. He was paroled on January 15, 1988, about eight months before Alvarado was killed.

The available case record shows that Hernandez had been drinking on the evening of the murder, but witnesses testified that he did not appear drunk when he left earlier locations that night. His later defense and appeals focused partly on claims involving alcohol and memory loss. However, the Fifth Circuit noted that voluntary intoxication was not a defense to the crime under Texas law, and his claims did not result in relief.

Murder Story

On the evening of September 30, 1988, Hernandez went with a friend, Mike Martinez, to the home of Margarita Davila in Slaton, Texas. They brought beer, and Hernandez spent time playing baseball with Davila’s young son. At about 7:30 p.m., Hernandez and Martinez left to buy more beer. Before leaving, Hernandez picked up the boy’s baseball bat, even though Davila told him not to take it.

After buying more beer, Hernandez and Martinez went to the home of Kenneth Hodges and shared the beer with others. Hernandez and Martinez later left together, then separated. Martinez went elsewhere, while Hernandez continued walking with the baseball bat.

At around 9:00 p.m., Hernandez went to the home of Ysidoro Maldonado, a young boy who lived with his grandmother near Elizabeth Alvarado’s residence. When the boy opened the door, Hernandez swung the baseball bat at him. The boy avoided being struck by closing the door, but the bat broke the screen door. Hernandez then ran in the direction of Alvarado’s home.

A short time later, Elizabeth Alvarado’s daughter, Josie Vargas, arrived at Alvarado’s home with Reuben Alvarado, Alvarado’s great-grandson. They saw Hernandez coming out of Alvarado’s kitchen. He was carrying Alvarado’s purse and a baseball bat. When Hernandez saw them, he went back inside the house and then came out through the front door with the purse and bat.

Vargas confronted Hernandez outside the house. Hernandez asked if she was alone, then raised the bat as if he was going to strike her. Vargas grabbed the bat, struggled with him, and managed to take it away. She then chased Hernandez and struck him with the bat as he fled.

Vargas and Reuben then entered the house and found Elizabeth Alvarado badly beaten. Alvarado’s right arm was visibly broken, and she appeared to still be breathing. Emergency personnel attempted to save her, but she was pronounced dead after being taken to Lubbock General Hospital.

The autopsy showed that Alvarado had suffered severe blunt-force injuries. Both bones in her right wrist were broken. She also had head lacerations, a broken nose, a depressed skull fracture, and a massive subdural hemorrhage. The medical evidence showed that she had been struck eight times in the head, and the pathologist testified that the blows caused her death.

Police apprehended Hernandez less than an hour after the beating. The Fifth Circuit record states that he was found hiding behind a tree. TDCJ records state that Hernandez was arrested after being found with bloodstains on his shirt, pants, and shoes. Officers also recovered evidence connected to the robbery, including Alvarado’s purse.

Hernandez was tried in Lubbock County for capital murder. At trial, the defense did not focus on factual innocence but argued that the case should be treated as murder rather than capital murder. The argument was that the killing was connected to intoxication and should not be treated as an intentional capital offense committed during a robbery. The jury rejected that argument.

On January 31, 1990, Hernandez was convicted of capital murder. On February 5, 1990, after a separate punishment hearing, the jury answered the special issues in a way that required the death penalty under Texas law at the time. Hernandez was received on Texas death row on June 27, 1990.

Hernandez’s conviction and death sentence were automatically appealed. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed both on June 29, 1994, and the United States Supreme Court denied certiorari on April 24, 1995. Later state and federal habeas challenges were also rejected. In 2000, the Fifth Circuit denied his request for a certificate of appealability.

During appeals, Hernandez argued that he had suffered an alcohol-related blackout and could not remember the crime. Near the end of his case, he reportedly changed his account and claimed another unidentified man had committed the murder. Courts did not accept those claims, and the execution was not stopped.

Adolph Gil Hernandez was executed by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas, on February 8, 2001. TDCJ lists him as execution number 243 in Texas, age 50, from Lubbock County.