From: Christic Institute <christic@igc.apc.org>
Subject: Mexico/Texas: Death Penalty Alert
Followup-To: alt.activism.d
Originator: daemon@pencil.cs.missouri.edu
Organization: ?
Date: Sat, 12 Sep 1992 03:37:41 GMT

/* Written  5:43 pm  Sep 10, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:carnet.alerts */
/* ---------- "Mexico/Texas: Death Penalty Alert" ---------- */
From: Human Rights Coordinator <hrcoord>
Subject: Mexico/Texas: Death Penalty Alert

/* Written  5:35 pm  Sep 10, 1992 by hrcoord in cdp:ai.uan */



                                           3 September 1992
Further information on EXTRA 48/92 (7 May 1992) and follow-
up of 12 May 1992 - Death Penalty
USA (Texas):      Ricardo ALDAPE GUERRA, Mexican

Ricardo Aldape Guerra is scheduled to be executed by the
state of Texas, on 24 September 1992. A previous execution
date set for 12 May 1992, was postponed a day before the
execution, pending further hearings on his case. He has
exhausted most avenues of legal appeal, and this date is
considered to be extremely serious.

Ricardo Aldape Guerra, a Mexican undocumented worker, was
sentenced to death on 4 October 1982 for the murder of a
white police officer, James Harris. Officer Harris was shot
as he approached the car in which Aldape Guerra and a
companion, Roberto Carrasco Flores, were travelling, after
entering the USA illegally to look for work.  Both men fled
and were subsequently involved in a shootout with police
during which Carrasco Flores was killed and Aldape Guerra
alone was arrested for murder. According to his defence
counsel, there are strong doubts as to whether Aldape Guerra
actually fired the shot which killed Officer Harris, and
Aldape Guerra himself has denied shooting the officer.
Although both men were armed, the murder weapon and Officer
Harris' service revolver were found on Flores, and there was
no forensic evidence to link Aldape Guerra to the murder. He
was convicted on the basis of eye witness testimony
(challenged by the defense), and the prosecution's theory
that the two men swapped their weapons. Aldape Guerra was
aged 20 at the time of the crime.

Aldape Guerra's lawyers have argued that community prejudice
against Mexican undocumented migrant workers jeopardized his
right to a fair trial after there was substantial pretrial
publicity in Houston, where the crime occurred. On appeal,
two judges on the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals felt the
state's evidence was insufficient to uphold Aldape Guerra's
conviction and death sentence. However, Aldape Guerra's
conviction was affirmed. In a letter to Governor Richards of
Texas, on 8 May 1992, President Carlos Salinas de Gortari of
Mexico issued a formal appeal for clemency on his behalf.
The execution was postponed on 11 May 1992.

Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all cases
as a violation of the right to life and the right not to be
subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment, as
proclaimed in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

RECOMMENDED ACTION:  Please send telegrams/telexes/faxes/
telephone calls/express and airmail letters:
- urging the Board of Pardons and Paroles to convene a
clemency hearing to consider the case of Ricardo Aldape
Guerra;
- appealing to the Board to recommend that the Governor
grant clemency to Ricardo Aldape Guerra by commuting his
death sentence;
- urging the Board to look into allegations that pretrial
publicity and anti-Mexican prejudice may have jeopardized
Aldape Guerra's right to a fair trial;
- referring to doubts raised as to whether Aldape Guerra
actually fired the shot which killed officer Harris.

APPEALS TO:                          [Salutation]
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles   [Dear Board Members]
8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard, PO Box 13401
Capitol Station                 (Telephone:  1 512 406 5852)
Austin, TX 78711-3401           (Faxes:      1 512 406 5231)
 (Telegrams: Texas Board Pardons/Paroles, Austin, TX, 78711)

COPIES TO:
The Honorable Ann Richards
Governor of Texas
Office of the Governor
PO Box 12428, Capitol Station
Austin, TX 78711     (Faxes:  1 512 463 1849)

The Letters Editor
Austin-American Statesman
Box 670
Austin, TX 78767     (Faxes:  1 512 445 3679)

The Letters Editor
Houston Chronicle
801 Texas Avenue
Houston, TX 77002    (Faxes:  1 713 220 7868)

Ambassador Gustavo Petricioli
Embassy of Mexico
1911 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington DC 20006

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY, TO ARRIVE BY 23 SEPTEMBER
1992.

Newsgroups: misc.activism.progressive,alt.activism,soc.culture.latin-america