Texas Intent on Executing Mexican Despite Kerry Warning Over Bilateral Ties Tom Dart - The Guardian
go to original January 19, 2014

Edgar Arias Tamayo was convicted of the 1994 murder of a police officer, Guy Gaddis. (Houston Police)

Texas is preparing to execute a Mexican national despite warnings that his death could harm relations between the United States and Mexico and affect the treatment of Americans detained abroad.

Edgar Arias Tamayo is scheduled to die by lethal injection in a Texas prison on 22 January for the 1994 murder of a Houston police officer. Tamayo was not promptly informed after his arrest of his right to consular assistance – a violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

US and Mexican government officials have cautioned Texas that executing Tamayo without a review of his case would breach an order from the International Court of Justice (ICJ). John Kerry, the US secretary of state, fears that if America is seen to be flouting international law there is a danger that other countries will be less inclined to respect due process for its citizens.

The case has attracted considerable publicity in Mexico, and several of the country's politicians have called on Texas to delay the execution. Mexico's foreign affairs secretary, José Antonio Meade Kuribreña, last month sent letters to the Texas governor, Rick Perry, and the Texas board of pardons and paroles requesting a reprieve.

Read the rest at The Guardian

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