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Summary: Texas has executed seven people so far this year.Â
After multiple appeals attempts, Mexican citizen Ruben Ramirez Cardenas died by lethal injection in Texas. The 47-year-old was executed on Wednesday night for killing his 16-year-old cousin, according to Fox News. Asked by the warden if he’d like to make a statement before his death, Cardenas replied, “No, sir.”
In 1997, Mayra Laguna, a teenager, was abducted from her family’s apartment and beaten to death by Cardenas. In a confession to the police, Cardenas admitted to driving around with Laguna and a friend. He said that he had forced sex with his teenage cousin and then punched her when she tried to flee.
“I didn’t plan on doing this, but I was high on cocaine,” Cardenas said to the police.
Cardenas said that he had hit his cousin in the neck, which caused her to cough up blood. She had difficulty breathing, and after an unsuccessful attempt to revive her, he admitted to tying her up and rolling her into a canal bank.
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Cardenas was sentenced to death row, but his punishment was delayed by appeals, arguing Texas was violating his due process by not allowing DNA testing. His legal team asked for a halt of the execution, but those appeals were denied.
Cardenas’ defense team also said that the United States’ government violated a treaty with Mexico by denying him the right to speak to the Mexican consulate after his arrest. His lawyers said he should have also been informed that he could speak with Mexican attorneys.
“For the Mexican government, capital punishment constitutes one of the most essential violations of human rights,” Jacob Prado Gonzalez, the Mexican government’s general director for consular protection, told ABC News.
Cardenas was pronounced dead at 10:26 p.m., and he is the seventh convicted murderer to be executed this year in Texas, the state that carries the most capital punishment in the country.
Laguna’s sister, Roxana Jones, said that she felt relief that there was finally justice for her sister’s murder.
“Words can’t begin to describe the relief it feels to know that there is true peace after so much pain and sorrow,” Roxana Jones said in a statement. “Mayra can be remembered as loving, caring, funny and dimples when she smiled. She will continue to watch over family and friends.”
Cardenas’ friend who was involved with the abduction, Jose Antonio Lopez Castillo, was convicted of aggravated kidnapping and is currently serving a prison term of 25 years.
