DOUBLE JUSTICE FOR MARY JANE GARCIA (JANUARY 9, 2001 & FEBRUARY 8, 2001)

         What if you had two of your family members murdered by two different killers on two different years? Unit 1012 knows it will be very tragic and pain. But for Mary Jane Garcia, it was double justice. Her mother, Elizabeth Alvarado was murdered by Adolph Gil Hernandez on September 30, 1988. Her daughter, Melisa Garcia was murdered by Jack Wade Clark on October 15, 1989. Jack Wade Clark and Adolph Gil Hernandez were both executed by lethal injection in Texas on January 9, 2001 and February 8, 2001 respectively. 

We thank God that she received double justice from the State of Texas, as both the killers were put to death. Her case totally discounts the myth that the death penalty creates a new set of victims, Mary did not feel like another victim but she was satisfied that justice was served twice. Below are the summary of the two murders and 3 quotes from Mary Garcia. 

Jack Wade Clark

Summary: Clark spotted 23 year old Melisa Garcia making a call from a public phone booth on the street. When she finished the call, Clark approached and stabbed her in the shoulder. He then forced her into her own car, raped her, then stabbed her in the heart. Defendant led police to body and confessed. Post-conviction DNA confirmed guilt. Tragically, the victim's grandmother was murdered by Adolph Hernandez one year earlier. Both Clark and Hernandez were executed in 2001.

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/clark684.htm

QUOTE 1: Mary Jane Garcia, Melisa Garcia's mother, said she doesn't believe Clark's last-minute apology. "He said he was sorry, but I don't think he meant it," Garcia said after witnessing Clark's death. "I needed to be here because of what he did to my daughter. Seeing him take his last breath made me feel better."

QUOTE 2: The Slaton woman plans to witness a second execution next month. Adolph Gil Hernandez, the man who robbed and killed her mother, is scheduled for lethal injection Feb. 8. "I'm praying. God is helping me. I know I can come again," Garcia said. "That way these two chapters in my life can be closed. I've been waiting 12 years. Once it's over, I'll never remember (the killers') names again." 

Adolph Gil Hernandez

Summary: Paroled from Burglary 8 months earlier, broke into home and beat 69 year old victim with a baseball bat, causing a broken arm and wrist, head lacerations, a broken nose, and a fractured skull. Hernandez left the house with the victim's purse and was confronted by her daughter, who was able to wrestle the bat away from him. She then chased him, hitting him with the bat until he escaped. Minutes earlier, Hernandez had tried unsuccessfully to enter a nearby home using the bat, but a young boy stopped him. Threatened a trial Judge in this case; 5 prior felony convictions. Tragically, another daughter of the victim had her daughter murdered by Jack Clark in unrelated case. Both Clark and Hernandez were executed in 2001. http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/death/US/hernandez697.htm

QUOTE 3: The scene was all too familiar for Mary Jane Garcia. Returning to Huntsville for the second time in a month, the West Texas woman watched Thursday night as a convicted killer was put to death for murdering one of her loved ones. "For me, it was the same," Garcia said after watching Adolph Gil Hernandez receive lethal injection for killing her 69-year-old mother with a baseball bat during a robbery more than a dozen years ago. "I'm just relieved and happy to know it's over. We don't have to worry about him getting out."