Bio

Ramon Pedro Hernandez was born on March 2, 1942, in El Paso County, Texas. Texas prison records listed him as Hispanic, 5 feet 3 inches tall, and a former welder. Before the murder, Hernandez had a criminal history. Texas Department of Criminal Justice records show that he had previously served a three-year prison sentence for possession of a narcotic drug and was discharged from that sentence on October 2, 1967.

News reports later described Hernandez as a former welder and community college student. He said drug use had contributed to repeated trouble with the law that began when he was young. He also had federal convictions connected to illegally transporting aliens. By 1980, Hernandez was living in the El Paso area. On June 20, 1980, he entered a closed gas station where Oscar Martin Frayre was staying overnight. The robbery ended with Frayre being shot and killed.

After his conviction, Hernandez became known for rejecting efforts by lawyers to delay his execution. He believed accepting help from attorneys could weaken or interfere with his right to represent himself. Courts later found that he understood his rights and chose not to pursue further appeals.

Murder Story

In the early morning hours of June 20, 1980, Ramon Pedro Hernandez entered a closed gas station in El Paso, Texas. Oscar Martin Frayre, a mechanic at the station, was staying overnight in quarters at the back of the building. Hernandez robbed the service station and fatally shot Frayre. Court records state that Frayre was shot three times.

Lucila Sanchez, a friend of Hernandez, was outside the gas station during the crime and later testified against him. During the robbery, Sanchez heard Hernandez and Frayre speaking in Spanish. Hernandez was heard saying words meaning “pass the money” or “hand over the money,” while Frayre replied that he did not have any money.

Hernandez was arrested after the murder. He was later charged with capital murder in El Paso County. His trial was set for September 8, 1980. A jury convicted him of capital murder, and he was sentenced to death. Texas prison records show that he was received on death row on September 30, 1980.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed his conviction and death sentence on January 20, 1982, and denied rehearing on January 18, 1983. Hernandez later pursued some legal actions on his own, including a civil rights complaint related to his arrest and interrogation. However, as his execution approached, he refused to authorize further habeas filings or requests for a stay.

His former trial attorney, Richard Lovelace, tried to file a last-minute stay request as “next friend,” but courts rejected the request because Hernandez had not authorized it and was not found mentally incompetent. The Fifth Circuit denied a stay shortly before the execution.

Ramon Pedro Hernandez was executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 30, 1987. He was pronounced dead at 1:13 a.m. He was the first inmate executed in the United States in 1987 and the 21st inmate executed in Texas after the state resumed executions.