Protestors in Mexico, including one man who burned an American flag, weren’t able to persuade Texas to spare the life of cop-killer Edgar Tamayo. He was convicted of shooting Houston policeman Guy Gaddis in the back of the head with a gun he had snuck into Gaddis’ patrol car after being arrested in 1994.
Here’s some background on the case via BBC News:
[Tamayo] was among the four dozen Mexican nationals awaiting execution in the U.S. in 2004 when the International Court of Justice in The Hague, Netherlands, ruled they had not been advised properly of their consular rights.
Former President George W. Bush ordered Texas and other states to review the cases, but the US Supreme Court ruled in favour of the state in 2008, saying the president could not effectively enforce The Hague’s ruling, leaving it to Congress to pass legislation.
Yes, that’s right. When Texas argued its sovereignty before the U.S. Supreme Court to execute the nationals in question, President George W. Bush sided with the World Court against Texas.
Not one of W’s finest moments.
It was Ted Cruz (then Texas’ Solicitor General) who argued the case for Texas and won, paving the way for Tamayo’s execution yesterday.
The flag-burning incident occurred a week ago in Mexico in protest of Tamayo’s scheduled execution:
Familiares de Edgar Tamayo clausuran simbólicamente Mc Donald's en el centro de Cuernavaca pic.twitter.com/Vi5G5IZH5D
— Areli González (@areliglz90) January 16, 2014
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Finalizan acto con la quema de la bandera de Estados Unidos pic.twitter.com/pcCdhz4eVd
— Areli González (@areliglz90) January 16, 2014
Some opponents of Tamayo’s execution, such as the American Bar Association, cited Tamayo’s low IQ as an extenuating factor:
Testing has determined that Tamayo has an IQ of approximately 67 and major limitations in adaptive functioning.
(We keep hearing that IQ is a “fundamentally flawed” concept. Apparently, it is a perfectly valid concept if the person citing it happens to be liberal.)
Many photos related to Tamayo’s execution were posted to Twitter yesterday:
Protestors line up outside Huntsville's Walls Unit before the execution of Mexican-national Edgar Tamayo. pic.twitter.com/UbuJWtsThr
— The Houstonian (@HoustonianNews) January 22, 2014
FOTO: En #Miacatlán amigos de #ÉdgarTamayo piden por un milagro para el morelense http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD || pic.twitter.com/m6fmj9RyUP
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 23, 2014
FOTO: A menos de 30 minutos de ejecución de #ÉdgarTamayo, migrantes se manifiestan en #Texas http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD| pic.twitter.com/jytC4bpNCk
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 22, 2014
FOTO: Oraciones por #ÉdgarTamayo se hacen presentes en prisión donde será ejecutado en #Texas. http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD pic.twitter.com/kkdvoSRDUV
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 22, 2014
FOTO: Latinos dicen no a pena de muerte a menos de 10 minutos de ejecución de #ÉdgarTamayo http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD || pic.twitter.com/XS6xPFzuKa
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 22, 2014
Llega "Hora Cero" para #ÉdgarTamayo #Texas http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD || pic.twitter.com/rqia1iuRiR
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 23, 2014
En este momento se lleva a cabo la ejecución de #ÉdgarTamayo en #Texas http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD || pic.twitter.com/HoFNWYm0Lm
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 23, 2014
Edgar Tamayo died at 9:32pm and did not give a final statement
— Chris Stipes (@TheChrisStipes) January 23, 2014
Media witnesses have come out of the Walls Unit indicating Tamayo is the first inmate put to death in Tex this year pic.twitter.com/bzGwfxGQWK
— Chris Stipes (@TheChrisStipes) January 23, 2014
Official TDCJ Execution recording for Tamayo pic.twitter.com/rK35brmFrT
— Chris Stipes (@TheChrisStipes) January 23, 2014
#BREAKING @AP confirms the execution of convicted murderer Edgar Tamayo, in Huntsville, TX. pic.twitter.com/9sJqlFrJDK
— The Houstonian (@HoustonianNews) January 23, 2014
FOTO: Regresan a las consignas manifestantes que apoyan a #ÉdgarTamayo en #Texas http://t.co/VB5azvNuaD || pic.twitter.com/PDQTPWdFY1
— Diario de Morelos (@DiariodeMorelos) January 23, 2014
Finally, after twenty years, justice has been served.
https://twitter.com/PoliticalScott/status/426209651651133440
#Texas executes Edgar Tamayo for the brutal 1994 murder of HPD officer Guy Gaddis. #khou pic.twitter.com/1luj0HgZQo
— The Bishop (@BillBishopKHOU) January 23, 2014
https://twitter.com/bwoodardkhou/status/426221915229786113
Rest in Peace, Guy Gaddis.
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