Sofia Alfaro, center, prays with other members of the Cristo Rey Catholic Church during a vigil held for Mexican citizen, Edgar Tamayo in front of the State Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2014, in Austin, Texas.HUNTSVILLE, Texas - A Mexican man has been executed in Texas for killing a Houston police officer, despite pleas and diplomatic pressure from the Mexican government and the U.S. State Department to halt the punishment.
Forty-six-year-old Edgar Tamayo received a lethal injection Wednesday evening for the January 1994 fatal shooting of 24-year-old Officer Guy Gaddis.
Courts rejected last-day appeals, and Texas officials spurned arguments that Tamayo's conviction and death sentence were tainted because he did not receive notice that he could request legal help from the Mexican consulate after his arrest for the officer's slaying.
Attorneys also argued unsuccessfully that Tamayo was mentally impaired, making him ineligible for execution, and the state's clemency procedures were unfair.