Jesús Ledesma Aguilar (November 28, 1963 – May 24, 2006) was a Mexican national who became the 365th person executed by the U.S. state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

. His execution sparked an international incident between the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

and Mexico, which led to a lawsuit filed by Mexico against the United States in the

International Court of Justice The International Court of Justice (ICJ; , CIJ), or colloquially the World Court, is the only international court that Adjudication, adjudicates general disputes between nations, and gives advisory opinions on International law, internation ...

, in which the court found that Texas prison officials had denied Aguilar his right to see a Mexican consular official as specified in the

Vienna Convention on Consular Relations The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for consulate, consular International relations, relations between sovereign states. It codifies many consular practices that originated from Customar ...

Crimes

Aguilar was convicted by a Texas court of

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse committed with the necessary Intention (criminal law), intention as defined by the law in a specific jurisd ...

ing two people, Leonardo Chavez and Annette Chavez, on June 10, 1995, with a

handgun A handgun is a firearm designed to be usable with only one hand. It is distinguished from a long gun, long barreled gun (i.e., carbine, rifle, shotgun, submachine gun, or machine gun) which typically is intended to be held by both hands and br ...

and sentenced to death on July 5, 1995. He did not know his victims. The couple's son said he witnessed the murders and testified against Aguilar at trial. Aguilar filed numerous appeals and requests for stays of execution, all of which were denied. He was

execute Execution, in capital punishment Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence (law), s ...

d on May 24, 2006 at 6:32 p.m. CST by

lethal injection Lethal injection is the practice of injecting one or more drugs into a person (typically a barbiturate, paralytic, and potassium) for the express purpose of causing death. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but t ...

, despite his continued claims of innocence and protests by the government of Mexico that he was denied his right under the Geneva Conventions to a visit by a Mexican consular official. Aguilar's nephew and co-defendant Christopher Quiroz was sentenced to life for his role in the crime. The ICJ found that the United States "has breached its obligations to Mr. Avena and 50 other Mexican nationals and to Mexico under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations." As a result of the court's ruling, Texas officials now provide official notification to the Mexican government if a Mexican national is arrested and incarcerated in a Texas jail, and allow consular officials to visit Mexican nationals in prison.

Incarceration and execution

Aguilar,

Texas Department of Criminal Justice The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) is a department of the government of the U.S. state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails ...

(TDCJ)# 999191, was received by the prison system on May 13, 1996. Ledesma was initially located in the

Ellis Unit O. B. Ellis Unit (E1, previously Ellis I Unit) is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated area, unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville, Texas, Huntsville. The unit, with about of space,‌ now h ...

, but was transferred to the Allan B. Polunsky Unit (formerly the Terrell Unit) in 1999. Put to death at

Huntsville Unit Texas State Penitentiary at Huntsville or Huntsville Unit (HV), nicknamed "Walls Unit", is a Texas state prison located in Huntsville, Texas, United States. The approximately facility, near downtown Huntsville, is operated by the Correctional Ins ...

,Death Row Facts
"

. Retrieved on February 4, 2016. he was executed on May 24, 2006.Last Statement Date of Execution: May 24, 2006 Offender: Aguilar, Jesus Ledesma
"

. Retrieved on November 10, 2016.

References

External links

Clark County Prosecutor's Office record of legal proceedings

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ledesma Aguilar, Jesus 1963 births 2006 deaths 1995 murders in the United States Diplomatic incidents 21st-century executions by Texas Mexican people convicted of murder Mexican people executed in the United States People convicted of murder by Texas People executed by Texas by lethal injection People executed for murder

Crimes

Incarceration and execution

See also

References

External links