- Edgar Tamayo Arias was convicted of killing Houston police officer in 1994
- Lawyers says he was denied access to his consulate, in violation of a treaty
- The Bush and Obama administrations had urged Texas to grant Tamayo a new hearing
Huntsville, Texas (CNN) — A last-ditch push to keep a convicted cop killer alive failed Wednesday night when the U.S. Supreme Court denied a motion to stay his execution.
Edgar Tamayo Arias, a Mexican national, was executed at 9:32 p.m. CT, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
His execution marks the first of the year in Texas and the 509th in the state since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976.
Tamayo did not make a statement before his death, department spokesman Jason Clark said.
Mexico’s government had been pushing to block Tamayo’s execution, arguing that it would violate international law.
Lawyers for Tamayo criticized the Supreme Court’s ruling.
“He will be executed tonight, despite the indisputable fact that his right to consular assistance was violated,” attorneys Sandra L. Babcock and Maurie Levin said in a statement before Tamayo’s lethal injection.
Tamayo, 46, was convicted of the 1994 murder of a Houston police officer.
Officer Guy Gaddis was fatally shot after arresting Tamayo and another man for robbery.
Tamayo’s supporters say he was denied access to his consulate when arrested, as required by an international treaty.
In the past five years, Texas has executed two other Mexicans convicted of murder who raised similar claims. The Supreme Court refused to delay either of those executions, which took place in 2008 and
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