During his trial, Tony was represented by Jerry Guerinot, a Houston attorney whose shocking track record has been documented by major national news outlets:

• A History of Defeat: The New York Times noted that having Guerinot represent you was a "good way to end up on death row in Texas," pointing out that 20 of his clients had been sentenced to death.

• 0-34 Record: Prison Legal News highlighted that Guerinot ultimately lost all 34 capital cases he defended at trial, describing his record as "unthinkable unless the attorney doesn’t care whether his clients are sentenced to death."

• An Impossible Caseload: According to the Dallas News, over one seven-month period in 1996, juries convicted defendants in four separate capital cases handled by Guerinot. It is professionally unthinkable to try four separate death penalty cases to verdict in such a short window. Tony was trapped in this systemic overload; his trial took place during a 6.5-month period where Guerinot and his co-counsel saw seven of their clients sentenced to death.

A Pattern of Capital Failures

Every person facing a criminal trial is constitutionally guaranteed the right to effective assistance of counsel. This right is the ultimate safeguard in our justice system. Because the state holds immense power and the sole burden of proof, a defense attorney’s job is to fiercely challenge the prosecution's theory, investigate alternative leads, and expose holes in the state's case.

When a lawyer fails to do the bare minimum, the system breaks down—and innocent people are sent to death row. This is exactly what happened to Tony Medina.

The Illusion of Defense: Ineffective Assistance of Counsel

⚠️ CRITICAL UPDATE: AN URGENT CALL FOR JUSTICE

Tony Medina’s life is in imminent danger. The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals has denied his latest appeal, leaving him with no further standard federal protections. The State of Texas can now set an execution date at any moment.

Tony has spent nearly three decades on death row for a crime he did not commit, trapped by a broken legal system that has repeatedly looked past the truth. Now, the clock is ticking faster than ever. We are running out of time, and we need your voice to help stop an irreversible injustice.

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Tony Medina never had a fair trial because he never had a real defense. We need your help to expose this injustice and fight for the fair hearing Tony has been denied for decades.

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A review of the trial records reveals that Tony did not receive a functional defense. His legal team completely abdicated their duty to investigate:

• 26 Days of Preparation: Although defense counsel was appointed in January 1996, absolutely no work was performed on Tony’s case until June 19, 1996—a mere 26 days before a trial for his life.

• A 30-Hour Investigation: The defense investigator spent a total of just 30 hours investigating the entire case. The investigator never interviewed a single witness in person.

• Blindly Entering the Courtroom: Mr. Guerinot admitted that he never spoke to 90% of the witnesses who testified, allowing key state and defense witnesses to take the stand without knowing what they were going to say.

• Ignoring Alternative Suspects: Even though a gang member explicitly gave statements to both the Houston Police Department and Sheriff's Deputies identifying another individual ("Flaco") as the shooter, Tony's defense counsel never interviewed this witness or used the statements to support Tony's innocence.

• Unchallenged Lies: Because the defense chose not to interview witnesses, read prior statements, or run basic criminal background checks, they were entirely unequipped to expose perjury and lies from the State’s witness stand.

• The Missing Alibi: The prosecution prejudiced the jury by linking Tony to various gang-related crimes that occurred in March and July of 1995. However, Tony was enrolled in a strict boot camp program from January 1995 until August 16, 1995, making it physically impossible for him to be involved. The prosecution knew this, yet Tony’s defense failed to present the records that would have instantly cleared him of these allegations.

• Forcing the Family to Defend Him: Because the defense failed to subpoena a single person to testify on Tony's behalf, the burden fell entirely on Tony’s father. He had to leave the courthouse mid-trial to scramble, locate, and pick up willing fact witnesses. Furthermore, the co-counsel responsible for the penalty phase waited until the very first day of trial to ask investigators to look for character witnesses, forcing Tony's father to desperately call family members to the courthouse to save his son's life.

How the System Failed Tony

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.