“Since the reintroduction of the death penalty in the US in 1976, more than 8,000 people have been sentenced to death.” ~Netflix, I am a Killer series.
I am a Killer Episode 4 – Sympathy for the Devil
- Death Row Inmate #01096142
- Miguel Angel Martinez
Before we get into the episode, I would like to say that if the inmate’s name seems familiar, that is because this is the same person I mentioned when I talked about my issues with the Texas Law of Parties. I will state now that there wasn’t a lot that I could find online about this case that wasn’t related to the Netflix series. This is a common thread with a lot of these later-episode cases. I am going to do some deep-dive research and hopefully update each of the cases from this series after I get that research done. Now on to the case.
In 1991 Miguel Martinez was sentenced to death. However, the motives behind the crime have never been fully understood. Martinez had been to the victims’ house before. The original intent of the crime was to be a breaking and entering with robbery. The driver on the night of the crime was Milo who also had been to the victim’s house previously.
Martinez says that as they approached the house, he had a bad feeling in his gut. Once he found out that someone was home, he wanted to leave. However, Martinez was terrified of his crime partner and that is what kept him there. The crime partner was Venegas who had an axe on him and struck the man on the couch first. Venegas also went on to stab the other two victims after Martinez had gone outside. Venegas made a statement to Martinez after the killings that Satan wanted their souls. Milo had bailed on being the getaway driver. After the killing Martinez and Venegas stopped at Milo’s, Venegas had said that he was going to talk to him. Martinez didn’t see Venegas after that and spoke with Milo one more time before being arrested.
Rest in Peace to the victims listed below:
- 20-year-old Ruben Martinez from Mexico
- 14-year-old Daniel Duenez from Mexico
- 33-year-old James Smiley, Restaurant manager and minister from Laredo, Texas
A cross had been turned upside down in the house by Venegas before leaving the scene. The house had been entered with a key that tipped the police off and the victim had to be known to the perpetrators. The weapons that were used in the crime had been loaned out by a local district court judge’s son.
Milo declined to be interviewed for the episode however his father spoke on his behalf. Martinez and Venegas had originally asked Milo for a gun, but he refused. He did end up giving them a knife and an axe. Milo didn’t think anything about it since they said they were going to trash a house. The police were able to determine that Milo had no knowledge of what was going to happen based on the confessions. Milo had been left with a lot of anguish over what happened that fateful day in 1991.
Venegas stated that he started to believe that he was the son of the Devil when he was eight years old. Venegas moved from Mexico to Texas at the age of 13. Venegas was on drugs at the time of the murder but was still consciously aware of what was going on. Venegas had set out to kill that night. At the age of 16 Venegas was not eligible for the death penalty. He ended up pleading for a 41-year sentence. He never testified in court and had never publicly talked about the murders until now.
Venegas believed that the Devil would come after and kill him if he did not kill the victims in the house. He claims that he turned the cross upside down to appease the Devil. Venegas comes across as out of touch with reality; I wouldn’t be surprised if he has mental health issues. Venegas claims that Martinez had once lived with Smiley and that he had told him that Smiley was a pedophile. There had been no evidence to support that claim.
Martinez had refused a plea deal that would have given him life in prison. However, at trial, he was sentenced to death. The prosecution felt it was unreasonable that Martinez was given the death penalty when Venegas was the more culpable party. Due to the Venegas situation, Martinez’s sentence was commuted to a life sentence. He has been eligible for parole since 2006 and has been denied every time. The reason for the denial is the severity of the crime that was committed.
I really feel for Martinez in this episode. I really believe that he deserves a second chance, but I am not on the parole board. I also believe that this episode highlights the need for more accessible mental health treatment in our country. I honestly feel that if there had been intervention done, in most of these cases, and mental health treatment sought at a young age a lot of these crimes could have been avoided. There is so much tragedy around this entire situation, This one along with episode 2 pulled at my heartstrings and definitely made me want to see major reforms when it comes to our criminal justice system.