Tony Medina
FIGHTING A WRONGFUL CONVICTION SINCE 1996
''Thirty years ago I was sent to Death Row. Every day since, I have fought to have people take an honest look at the facts of what happened, and how my so-called legal team turned their backs on me. I believe that after reading this website, you will understand how broken the legal system here in Texas is.''
- Tony Medina
Tony Medina was just 21 years old the day he arrived on Texas Death Row. He still vividly describes what that September day in 1996 looked like, and the overwhelming weight of stepping out of the transport van into a reality that would consume the next three decades of his life.
Born and raised in Houston, Texas, Tony grew up surrounded by a large, close-knit extended family. While he struggled and found himself in trouble as a teenager, he was well on his way to turning his life around as a young adult—before he was wrongfully convicted of a crime he did not commit.
Throughout thirty years of fighting this injustice, it was his family’s unwavering love that kept him grounded. They never turned their backs on him. For decades, Tony’s beloved mother was his rock, his constant comfort, and his main support person through the darkest hours of this ordeal. She and Tony shared an incredibly close, unbreakable bond. Though she recently passed away, her profound love, her strength, and her tireless fight for his freedom continue to fuel Tony's spirit every single day. He carries her memory and her mission forward in everything he does.
Despite spending more than a quarter of a century in a cage—including the last 22 years in the crushing isolation of solitary confinement—Tony has refused to let his environment define his character or limit his soul. Life on death row is designed to break a person, but Tony has used his decades inside to grow, evolve, and profoundly transform.
Rather than letting the walls silence him, Tony fought to educate himself, sharpen his mind, and find a higher purpose. He transforms his cell into a space of intense creativity and resistance, evolving into a gifted artist, a poet, and writer. Through his writing and his art, he has not only kept his own humanity intact, but he has also become a powerful, mature voice from within the system. He went from a young man facing an unimaginable tragedy to ensuring that his life and his story matter.
Today, Tony is 51 years old. He has spent more than half of his life fighting an unyielding appellate system from inside a solitary cell.
That fight has now reached its most critical and dangerous crossroads. With the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals recently denying his latest petition, Tony has exhausted his standard federal appeals. The State of Texas can now move to set an execution date at any moment. Tony’s life is in imminent danger, and the fight to save him—and to honor the legacy of the mother who stood by him through it all—requires all of us.
A JOURNEY OF TRANSFORMATION AND GROWTH
THE ULTIMATE FIGHT IS NOW
ABOUT TONY...
Time is critical. Tony needs your help!
E-messaging allows friends and families to send electronic messages. To learn more about the service and to set up an account, click the button below.
Be a light in the darkness. Whether you are someone with the skills to help Tony’s case, or a person who wants to offer a kind word of support, your connection is a lifeline. Reach out today and let Tony know he isn't alone.