SAVE Bernardo Tercero, Texas
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NEWS August 2017
Bernardo Tercero's mother and son have just been visiting him on Texas death row. They say:
Bernardo Tercero's mother and son have just been visiting him on Texas death row. They say:
I want to tell you that the visit to my father was a success and we were very happy, it is a beautiful gift and a blessing.
Likewise I want to thank you very much for supporting us at all times and being aware of our lives.
Bernardo Aban Tercero is a Nicaraguan national on death row in Texas. He was convicted of the offense of capital murder for the murder of Robert Berger during the course of a robbery of Park Avenue Cleaners, in Houston, Texas, on March 31, 1997. He has always maintained it was an accident. He was sentenced to death on October 20th, 2000. In August 2015, Bernardo Aban Tercero was granted a stay of Execution (Find out more about the last 2015 campaign for Bernardo Tercero here). On May 17th, 2017, His execution stay was lifted.
However, his death sentence and uncertainty on his future has been weighing heavily on the health of his close family in Nicaragua, for whom the execution of Bernardo Tercero could result in a dramatic tragedy.
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January 2017
Bernardo Tercero's close uncle Desiderio at the hospital in Nicaragua. He suffers from a severe hernia and heart condition. |
August 2017
Desiderio's heart condition deteriorated. Invasive surgery seems to be out of the question. He is on a months trial with a new prescription of drugs. |
A supporter of the family reports to us:
The Tercero family situation has not got any better.
[Bernardo Tercero's uncle] Desiderio has been in and out of hospital with an ongoing infection that keeps blowing up. He is home for the moment
but his heart condition is said to have deteriorated.
Meantime, his wife who suffers from diabetes and also now a heart condition, was admitted an an emergency the other day - her feet are very painful as a result of the diabetes and in desperation she took some of Desiderio's painkillers. The effect was not good and she was virtually in a coma for a while, unable to speak. Again she is home now but not right yet. With neither of them able to walk, and unable to work, things are bad for them.
Oscar, their son who is particularly close to Bernardo (cousins), has worked tirelessly to get them help (...).
Oscar himself has also been ill following a bad fall when his home was flooded some weeks ago (he was hospitalized at the time).
I think I have told you before that Lidia [Bernardo Tercero's mother] is no longer able to work and has health problems. (...)
Quite a family story one way and another. All living on the edge of subsistence.
Here is the testimony that Bernardo Tercero's son sent to us:
When I learned of the death sentence, that moment was like being submerged with water,
and you run out of air, you suffocate, as you try to come out to the surface. Like when you're drowning. I felt sad, as never in my life I had been.
My name is Franklin Tercero, I am the son of Bernardo Tercero. My father asked me to write about the emotional impact of his absence on my life. I call it the absence of my God. When I close my eyes, I remember the last time I saw my father, I can still see his black jacket, blue trousers and black hat, it was a dark morning and I was scared because there was constant thunderstorms. I was very young and I was not capable to realize what was happening, wondering why my dad was going, and why he looked so sad. I remember the hours passing by, the tear rolling on the face of my grand ma, silently and I remember that tear, and I could feel an emptiness in my throat. (...)
When I learnt that he was in prison, my heart started to beat very very quickly (...) As I was grew older, I progressively understood that I would have to grow older on my own. My sadness increased and affected me negatively. I grew up with a low self esteem. I felt low, but did not know who to turn to to ask my questions. I had no confidence… I started to withdraw, playing alone, facing problems alone. I grew up too quickly…despite the affection of my uncles and grand parents, I was always wondering where my dad was (...)
One day I heard the voice of my father on the phone (we had gone to Chinandega to make the call) I asked him: "When are you coming back? "
He replied : "One day, but you have to take care of your self", and then the call stopped. I didn’t know whether he was laughing or whether he was crying.
I did not want the others to look at me with sadness. I started to adopt a double personality. The one that was not true and that was showing to others, and the real one, that I kept to myself. I started to give to my friends the love that I had kept for my parents.
There is a passage in the bible that says: I will not give you what you won’t be able to carry. This has transformed the way I think and has brought me a sense of peace. I had achieved to become a man who did not follow the ideas of others. Despite the odds, I don’t forget my father. He remains in my heart, we all miss him. I sincerely love you, Dad, all I would like is to be able to be next to you again.
Learn more about the collateral damages of a death sentence on families here
When I learnt that he was in prison, my heart started to beat very very quickly (...) As I was grew older, I progressively understood that I would have to grow older on my own. My sadness increased and affected me negatively. I grew up with a low self esteem. I felt low, but did not know who to turn to to ask my questions. I had no confidence… I started to withdraw, playing alone, facing problems alone. I grew up too quickly…despite the affection of my uncles and grand parents, I was always wondering where my dad was (...)
One day I heard the voice of my father on the phone (we had gone to Chinandega to make the call) I asked him: "When are you coming back? "
He replied : "One day, but you have to take care of your self", and then the call stopped. I didn’t know whether he was laughing or whether he was crying.
I did not want the others to look at me with sadness. I started to adopt a double personality. The one that was not true and that was showing to others, and the real one, that I kept to myself. I started to give to my friends the love that I had kept for my parents.
There is a passage in the bible that says: I will not give you what you won’t be able to carry. This has transformed the way I think and has brought me a sense of peace. I had achieved to become a man who did not follow the ideas of others. Despite the odds, I don’t forget my father. He remains in my heart, we all miss him. I sincerely love you, Dad, all I would like is to be able to be next to you again.
Learn more about the collateral damages of a death sentence on families here
ART FROM BERNARDO TERCERO: MEMORIES FROM NICARAGUA
To contact Bernardo Aban Tercero via jpay, enter TDCJ number 00999369
