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| Mexican on Oklahoma Death Row Gets Life in Prison |
| By Reuters |
| Published: 12/01/2003 |
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A Mexican man who once came within days of being executed was sentenced to life in prison for a 1989 murder after Mexican authorities protested that his rights had been violated, Oklahoma officials said on Friday. The new sentence for Gerardo Valdez, 43, came after two years of efforts by Mexican officials, including President Vicente Fox, to have Valdez's life spared. Fox wrote to then Gov. Frank Keating in 2001 asking that Valdez's sentence be commuted to life in prison. A state court of appeals ordered Valdez resentenced last Thursday in light of information that he had been denied a lawful consultation with the Mexican consulate. Keating did not commute the sentence, but he did issue a stay of execution that resulted in the appeal. Valdez had been scheduled to die on Aug. 30, 2001, for the 1989 murder of Juan Barron. Valdez admitted he shot and killed Barron, cut up his body and hid it in a backyard barbecue pit after Barron made unwanted homosexual advances. After he was sentenced, an attorney discovered that Valdez was a Mexican citizen and had not been informed of his right by an international treaty for his consulate to be notified so it could provide aid in his defense. Mexican consular officials have said that Valdez suffered severe brain damage in a childhood accident, which affected his behavior. |
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