Esequiel Hernández, Jr.

Esequiel Hernández, Jr. (May 14, 1979 – May 20, 1997) was an 18-year-old American high school student killed on May 20, 1997 by United States Marines in Redford, Texas, located approximately one mile from the United States–Mexico border. Hernández was the first American civilian to be killed by active United States Armed Forces while they were on duty since the student massacre at Kent State University in 1970 and led to Defense Secretary William Cohen issuing a temporary suspension of troop patrols near the U.S.–Mexico border. The shooting inspired the 2005 movie The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada by Tommy Lee Jones, and the 2007 documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez.

Death
U.S. Marines on drug patrol heavily camouflaged in ghillie suits came upon Hernández herding goats. The camouflaged Marines observed the 18 year old high school student from concealment at a distance of approximately 200 yards maintaining radio contact with their unit. Hernández, who was carrying a .22 caliber rifle that family members said he used to fend off predators, shot in the direction of the Marines. Continuing to call for Border Patrol assistance, the Marines proceeded to track Hernández for twenty minutes, until the Marine fire-team leader shot and killed Hernandez. The bullet entered Hernandez' armpit on his right side.

Investigation
A congressional investigation into the killing was scheduled for September 1997. A grand jury examined the fatal shooting and considered criminal charges against the four Marines, but did not indict any of the Marines involved in the shooting. The Justice Department subsequently dropped its investigation. The Marines also investigated the killing. In 1998, the U.S. government paid his family $1.9 million to settle a wrongful death claim. The U.S. Marine who fatally shot Hernández was not charged.

The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez
The 2007 documentary The Ballad of Esequiel Hernandez explores his killing by Marines, analysing both sides of the issue. It won best-documentary awards at the Mexico City Film Festival and Santa Fe Film Festival in 2007 and at the El Paso festival in 2008. It is directed by Kieran Fitzgerald and narrated by Tommy Lee Jones. The documentary premiered July 8, 2008 on PBS.

External references

 * PBS NewsHour with Jim Lehrer broadcast August 13, 1997 Casualties of the Drug War
 * Oversight Investigation of the Death of Esequiel Hernandez, Jr.: A Report of Chairman Lamar Smith to the Subcommittee on Immigration & Claims of the Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives, 150th congress. United States Government Printing, January 1998. ISBN 0-16-057719-5 ISBN 978-0-16-057719-2