Which is why the Mexican Consulate wants someone on the corner of 200 South and 500 West to take information from employers who pick up day laborers. Doing so would protect both the employer and the worker, says the Consulate's Alfonso Brito.

"People take advantage of Hispanics because they know they can. They laugh at people who complain, they've got away with it so many times," Yapias said. "This has to stop. Our community is on our knees asking for some kind of immigration reform."

It is a hot August day at Point of the Mountain, the state's maximum security prison. Jesus Hernandez rises from his cot and walks quietly across his room, careful not to wake his cellmate.

He opens his dog-eared scriptures and begins reading. He wants to believe in forgiveness.

He has gained weight and grown a mustache since he was last seen in court. He wears his hair short, just as he did on his LDS mission.

He misses the warmth of his children, who will be adults when he is released and sent back to Mexico in 25 or 30 years.

No, Jesus Hernandez doesn't see himself as a symbol. His story is tragic, and he hopes its ending is never repeated. Hopefully, there's a lesson in all of it.

"I wish they could do something to prevent this from happening again," he said. "They don't want immigrants, but they do want our labor."

"They don't have to give us jobs, but if they do, they should pay us."

He pauses, looks down at his hands.

"It's hard to be in my situation because I tried to go look for law. I went to the law and the law didn't do anything for me. Because of this, I spend half of my life in prison."

He once thought there was justification in what he did. He told a judge as much. But not anymore. Not in prison.

When he can't sleep, he thinks of Jasmine and the girls. He remembers the dusty streets of Valparaiso, Mexico. And sometimes, when the prison is dark and quiet, he thinks about the man he killed.

"If I had the power, I would give his life back," he said, and his eyes fill with tears.

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E-mail: jhyde@desnews.com