District attorney seeks death penalty in case highlighted in US election
Al Jazeera
The murder of 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray has been held up by Donald Trump as evidence of the dangers of undocumented migration.
A district attorney in Texas has unveiled plans to seek the death penalty in an alleged murder case that became a prominent talking point in the 2024 United States presidential election.
On Friday, Harris County District Attorney Kim Ogg filed a notice indicating her decision to seek death sentences for Johan Jose Martinez-Rangel, 22, and Franklin Jose Pena Ramos, 26.
The crime they are accused of committing became a centrepiece in Republican Donald Trump’s campaign for re-election in November.
The two suspects are Venezuelan nationals, and they crossed the border into the US without the proper documentation to do so. US Border Patrol briefly arrested them after their entry into the US, but they were released and given notices to appear in court at a later date.
A few months later, in June, the two men allegedly kidnapped, sexually assaulted and killed 12-year-old Jocelyn Nungaray, leaving her body in a Houston creek.
