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Homicide

Texas lawyer who lost all death penalty cases says he's done

Associated Press
Published | Updated
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    In this June 10, 2016 photo, attorney Jerry Guerinot, poses for a photo at his Houston, Texas office. Guerinot figures he's taken about 600 cases to trial in his more than four-decade-long career. (AP Photo/Michael Graczyk) (The Associated Press)

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    In this June 22, 2016 file photo, Texas prisoner Maknojiya Jainul, 39, is photographed at the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Polunsky Unit near Livingston, Texas. Jainul is one of about three dozen capital murder defendants whose trial was handled by Houston defense lawyer Jerry Guerinot. None of the defendants represented by Guerinot was acquitted of the charge. But Jainul, who had been in the U.S. illegally less than a month when he was arrested for the 1997 slaying of a Houston convenience store clerk, credited the efforts of Guerinot and co-counsel Anthony Osso for saving his life. A Harris County jury rejected prosecutors' call for a death sentence and instead sentenced Jainul to life in prison. (AP Photo/Michael Graczyk). (The Associated Press)

HOUSTON – Texas lawyer Jerry Guerinot (GER'-uh-no) says he no longer represents people accused of capital murder after four decades of posting a perfect record.

None of his nearly three dozen capital murder clients was found innocent.

Some death penalty opponents label him the worst lawyer in the United States. Guerinot says the criticism is unfair because he represented gang members, serial killers and sociopaths.

Twenty-one of his clients received the death penalty and 10 were executed. In one seven-month period of 1996, juries convicted Guerinot clients in four separate cases, which critics say is too large a case load.

This fall, courts will review two cases involving Guerinot clients now on death row. While his performance isn't the central issue, the reviews raise questions about whether they received a fair trial.