Body of Mexican executed in US returned home
AFP
April 13, 2014, 3:03 am
Nuevo Laredo (Mexico) (AFP) - The body of a Mexican national who was executed in the US state of Texas has been transferred to his hometown of Nuevo Laredo to be buried.
Ramiro Hernandez, 44, was put to death Wednesday by lethal injection in Huntsville, Texas.
His coffin was received Friday by 300 people, including friends and relatives accompanied by mariachi musicians, at his home in the Mexican border town.
Hernandez was sentenced to death in 2000 for murdering a 49-year-old man who employed him on his ranch in San Antonio. He also repeatedly raped his victim's wife following the murder.
The United States Supreme Court declined to hear an appeal from Hernandez as one of several Mexicans seeking to challenge their sentences on the grounds they were not properly advised of their right to consular assistance after their arrest.
The Vienna Convention, ratified by 175 countries including the United States, dictates that foreign nationals must be able to receive consular assistance when arrested.
The United Nations criticised the United States on Friday for denying Mexican death row inmates access to their homeland's diplomats.
Rupert Colville, spokesman for the UN high commissioner for human rights, condemned Hernandez's execution, calling it "just the latest in similar cases involving Mexican nationals."
