Texas defied the World Court and executed a Mexican national by lethal injection yesterday over the objections of the international judicial body and Mexico.
Jose Medellin (33) was pronounced dead at 9.57pm local time in the state's death chamber in Huntsville, the Texas Department of Criminal Justice said.
He had been condemned for the 1993 rape and murder of 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena in Houston and lost his bid late Tuesday for a last-minute stay from the US Supreme Court.
The World Court last month ordered the US government to "take all measures necessary" to halt the upcoming executions of five Mexicans including Medellin's on the grounds that they had been deprived of their right to consular services after their arrests.
According to the Texas Attorney General's office, Elizabeth Pena and 14-year-old Jennifer Ertman were walking home in June 1993 when they encountered a gang initiation. Medellin and his fellow gang members sexually assaulted and killed the two girls - although only Medellin was convicted of Pena's murder.
But Medellin's execution is likely to anger Mexico, and analysts have said it could make life difficult for Americans arrested abroad if other countries decide to evoke the US example and deprive them of their right to consular services.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles had recommended that the state's Republican governor Rick Perry not grant a temporary reprieve, paving the way for Medellin's execution.
Texas, which executes far more convicts than any other US state, had taken the view that the brutal nature of Medellin's crimes rendered him unfit for a reprieve or lesser sentence.
Reuters