Convicted cop killer Edgar Tamayo is scheduled to be executed next month but lawyers for the Mexican citizen are trying to get it stopped. Secretary of State John Kerry is also voicing his concerns about the execution. Kerry feels if Texas were to go through with the execution it could hurt U.S.-Mexico relations. In 1994 Tamayo was convicted and sentenced to death in the shooting and death of a Houston police officer. The officer was killed while making an arrest and on Tuesday, 20 years after the conviction a judge set the execution date for Jan. 22, 2014.
Unless Tamayo is granted a stay of execution he will be killed by lethal inject in January. Tamayo has spent the last 19 years appealing and delaying his sentence but now a judge has agreed it is time to execute the 46-year-old Mexican citizen. Judge Michael McSpadden set the execution date and spoke with ABC 13 about the heavy responsibility. "This is the worst part of my job," the judge said. "Even though my responsibility is to see the jury's verdict is fulfilled." Roe Wilson the Assistant District Attorney said that Tamayo was given the same rights as an American Citizen.
Now that Tamayo's appeals have been exhausted the ADA feels it is time for the case to move forward. Wilson told ABC 13, "We are now in a position where it is time to set an execution date. It's long past time to set an execution date and so we are going to proceed with that." Tamayo's lawyers are trying to stop the execution on the grounds that his rights under the Vienna Convention were violated. The convention states that a citizen of a foreign country has the right to contact their consulate if they get into legal trouble while visiting another country.
Secretary of State John Kerry has warned Texas officials that if they go through with the execution, not only will it damage the U.S' relationship with Mexico, but it could also hinder the ability of the government to help American detainees overseas. Kerry's involvement in the case does not seem to be deterring the Texas authorities from staying the execution. Lawyers for Tamayo have petitioned Texas Governor Rick Perry for a 30-day reprieve while they petition the Board of Pardons to commute the sentence to life in prison.
In a letter to Perry and the Texas attorney general Kerry outlined his concerns for the continued relationship between Mexico and the U.S should the execution move forward. "I have no reason to doubt the facts of Mr. Tamayo's conviction, and as a former prosecutor, I have no sympathy for anyone who would murder a police officer." Kerry called the concern he is showing a "process issue" and worried for the way Americans would be treated overseas. "Our consular visits help ensure U.S. citizens detained overseas have access to food and appropriate medical care, if needed, as well as access to legal representation."
Governor Perry responded to the New York Times about Kerry's letter via his spokesperson Lucy Nashed, saying states do not have to up hold the decision of the World Court if a finale judgment has already been reached. "It doesn't matter where you're from - if you commit a despicable crime like this in Texas, you are subject to our state laws, including a fair trial by jury and the ultimate penalty."
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