In 1983, the Mexican Ramón Montoya was executed in the United States after being convicted of the murder of Dallas police officer John R. Pasco. Montoya was arrested 45 minutes after the shooting, where the officer died from a gunshot. Despite attempts for clemency based on challenges to the legality of his confession, Montoya was executed by lethal injection in 1993.
According to one of the prosecutors in the case, Montoya was described as "a wolf disguised as a human," while the then-president of Mexico, Carlos Salinas de Gortari, stated that the death penalty was an excessive and unjustifiable punishment. The mother of the slain officer expressed her surprise that Montoya was sentenced to death, referring to the incident in which Montoya, in an attempt to dispose of a weapon to avoid his deportation, may have accidentally shot Pasco.
During the 10 years of waiting on death row, various appeals and motions were presented, but ultimately, Montoya's execution took place in March 1993. Before receiving the lethal injection, Montoya expressed his last words asking God to help them. The case generated controversy and protests from human rights groups that questioned the objectivity of the U.S. justice system.
Additionally, it is noteworthy that Montoya's sentencing generated clemency petitions from the Government of Mexico and the Vatican. Since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1972 in the United States, 13 Mexicans have been sentenced to death, with Montoya being the first to be executed. His case marked a milestone in the relationship between Mexico and the United States regarding justice and security issues.
