113:. It is the only unit in Texas that has death row for male inmates. Gurule was selected for the Work Capable Program, together with around 150 other death row inmates. This was a trial program that allowed selected death row inmates to move relatively freely outside their cells, to have contact with other non-death row inmates and to carry out supervised work within the prison. His appeal against his death sentence was denied a year before his escape.
83:, and had also been shot in the back of the head. It was also discovered that Gurule's girlfriend, Malisa Smith, had been fired from her job at the restaurant in the week before the killings. The prosecution alleged that Gurule and Smith had jointly planned to rob the restaurant. It was also noted that Gurule had convictions dating back to 1986 for
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On
October 12, 1992, Gurule entered U & I late at night and fatally shot restaurant co-owner Mike Piperis and employee Anthony Staton. Gurule claimed that Piperis had ordered him to come to the restaurant that night because Piperis wanted to discuss an accusation from Gurule of Piperis committing
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in the river. His time of death was backdated to
November 27, meaning that he died on the night of his escape. Investigators believe that he jumped into the river to remove traces that could allow sniffer dogs to locate him, and then drowned due to the severity of his gunshot wound preventing him
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so that they would be less visible at night. After the cells were locked for the night, they broke through a door to the recreational yard and then through a separating fence. Once they reached the main prison yard, they scaled the roof of a building and waited for complete darkness.
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Shortly after midnight, guards at a post spotted the escapees climbing, immediately raising the alarm and opening fire. At this point, all six of Gurule's co-escapees surrendered, but Gurule ran approximately 100 ft over an open piece of land, scaled a
171:. Gurule was wearing several layers of clothing and rolled up newspapers and cardboard to protect himself while scaling the prison's barbed-wire fences. The autopsy revealed that he had sustained a gunshot wound in the back, causing him to
129:. Prior to leaving their cells for the dinner, they had placed cushions and sheets in their beds in such a way that the guards would not suspect anything was amiss. They also darkened their prison uniforms with
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Investigators contradicted Gurule's version of events. They alleged that Staton was sitting on a chair when he was shot in the back of the head. Piperis was found kneeling against a chair in front of an open
58:, an institution run by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation. His 23-year-old girlfriend, Malisa Smith, worked on the checkout at the U & I restaurant in Corpus Christi.
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fence, ran another 70 ft across a clearing, scaled a second barbed-wire fence and disappeared into the darkness outside the prison boundary, despite the guards having fired 18 shots at him.
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Martin Gurule was raised by his father and grandmother. His mother died shortly before his first birthday. He attended
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More than 500 officers from surrounding towns, cities and counties took part in the manhunt, which was supported by
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Carlos Valdéz called the killings a "crime that had had been building up over several years".
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22:(November 7, 1969 - November 27, 1998) was an American prisoner who successfully escaped from
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and announced a 5,000-dollar reward for information leading to Gurule's capture.
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relocated its death row in March 1999 to the
Terrell Unit (now renamed the
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Seven days later, two fishermen found Gurule's body in a tributary of the
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in 1998. It was the first successful breakout from Texan death row since
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on
November 26, 1998, Gurule and six other death row inmates hid in a
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In July 1993, Gurule was convicted of capital murder and
320:"Shadow Figures: A Portrait of Life on Texas Death Row"
54:and cared for intellectually disabled patients at
204:Eric Dewayne Cathey (27), on death row since 1997
207:James Edward Clayton (32), executed May 25, 2000
210:Henry Earl Dunn (24), executed February 6, 2003
195:. The Work Capable Program was discontinued.
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286:KOLKER, CLAUDIA; HART, LIANNE (1998-12-04).
219:Howard Guidry (22), on death row since 1997
179:As a direct result of Gurule's escape, the
250:"Texas Death Row Inmate Pulls Off Escape"
176:from being able to get out of the river.
411:Deaths by drowning in the United States
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426:Prisoners sentenced to death by Texas
396:American prisoners sentenced to death
288:"Escaped Death Row Inmate Found Dead"
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181:Texas Department of Criminal Justice
421:People convicted of murder by Texas
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216:(26), executed February 16, 2016
348:"Death Row Escapee Found Dead"
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416:Escapees from Texas detention
225:(27), executed March 14, 2000
156:additionally called in the
87:, theft and two robberies.
56:Corpus Christi State School
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346:Lyman, Rick (1998-12-04).
248:Lyman, Rick (1998-11-28).
149:, boats and helicopters.
185:Allan B. Polunsky Unit
214:Gustavo Julian Garcia
48:W. B. Ray High School
38:on January 16, 1934.
20:Martin Edward Gurule
123:Thanksgiving dinner
107:unincorporated area
352:The New York Times
254:The New York Times
99:sentenced to death
34:was broken out by
401:American escapees
292:Los Angeles Times
223:Ponchai Wilkerson
92:District Attorney
85:credit card fraud
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363:. Retrieved
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324:Mother Jones
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147:sniffer dogs
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73:self-defense
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391:1998 deaths
386:1969 births
199:Co-escapees
193:Polk County
140:barbed-wire
131:marker pens
69:tax evasion
380:Categories
365:2018-01-16
329:2018-01-16
305:2018-01-16
267:2018-01-16
230:References
169:Huntsville
103:Ellis Unit
360:0362-4331
300:0458-3035
262:0362-4331
121:During a
24:death row
151:Governor
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187:), in
117:Escape
105:in an
62:Crimes
173:drown
167:near
28:Texas
356:ISSN
296:ISSN
258:ISSN
81:safe
42:Life
109:of
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