Ricardo Aldape Guerra, an undocumented worker aged 30, was sentenced to death on 4 October 1982 for the murder of a white police officer. He has exhausted most avenues of legal appeal and the latest execution date set for him, 24 September 1992, is considered extremely serious. His defence counsel maintains that there are strong doubts as to whether he actually fired the shot which killed the officer: the murder weapon and the officer’s revolver were found on the body of Adalpe Guerra’s companion, Roberto Carrasco Flores, who was killed in the shoot out. No forensic evidence exists to link Aldape Guerra to the murder. His lawyers have also argued that community prejudice against Mexican undocumented workers jeopardized his right to fair trial.
