This is a list of people legally executed in Mexico. The death penalty was a legal punishment in Mexico since Pre-Columbian times, and was still applied during its contemporary history. The last non-military execution in Mexico was in June 1957 in the State of Sonora, where two men charged with child rape and murder were executed by firing squad, and the last military execution was in 1961, with the civil death penalty being abolished in 1976 and the military death penalty in 2005. The next list is representative and includes people condemned and executed during Mexican history:
| Name of the convict | Execution date | Method | Charge | Jurisdiction | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Arcadio Jímenez | 28 April 1909 | Firing squad | Murder |  Mexico, Federal Government | Farmer who was condemned to death for murdering a policeman named Tomás Morales. The crime occurred during a protest in Chalco, State of Mexico, in the years previous to the beginning of the Mexican Revolution. Two other men, Hilario Silva and Marcelino Martínez, were executed for their participation in this murder.[1] | |
| Marcelino Martínez | 28 April 1909 | Firing squad | Murder | Mexico, Federal Government | Farmer executed with Arcadio Jímenez and Hilario Silva for the same crime.[2] | |
| Hilario Silva | 28 April 1909 | Firing squad | Murder | Mexico, Federal Government | Farmer executed with Arcadio Jímenez and Marcelino Martínez for the same crime.[3] | |
| José de Jesús Negrete Medina | 22 December 1910 | Firing squad | Murder, robbery and organized delinquency | Mexico, Federal Government | 37-year-old man, ex-military, and leader of a gang who was condemned to death for the murder of two policemen. Negrete was a bandit, better known as "The Tiger of Santa Julia" (Spanish: El Tigre de Santa Julia), with a modus operandi similar to Robin Hood. He was arrested and incarcerated in 1905 for several attacks on plantations, shops, and several armory stations. He escaped from prison and murdered two police officers in the process. He was re-arrested, sentenced to death, and executed by firing squad at Belem Prison in Mexico City in 1910. | |
| Margarita Ortega (magonist) | 24 November 1913 | Firing squad | Mexico | |||
| 23 November 1927 | Firing squad | Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and terrorism | Mexico, Federal Government | A 24-year-old hydraulic engineer, and active member of group named Liga Nacional para la Defensa de las Libertades Religiosas (English: National League for the Defense of Religious Liberties). Vilchis was condemned to death for the attempted murder of Mexican Presidential candidate, Alvaro Obregón. He orchestrated and executed a bomb attack on November 13, 1927 in Mexico City.[4] The day of murder attempt, Vilchis and three other men (Juan Tirado, Nahum Lamberto Ruíz, and an unidentified man) approached Obregón's retinue; Vilchis and Tirado threw two bombs at the retinue, while Ruíz shot at them. No fatalities resulted from the attack. A few hours later, Vilchis turned himself in. On 23 November 1927, Vilchis was executed by firing squad at the same time as Juan Tirado and the brothers Miguel and Humberto Pro. Neither Ruíz nor the unidentified man were executed for their roles in the plot.[5] | ||
| Juan Tirado Arías | 23 November 1927 | Firing squad | Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and terrorism | Mexico, Federal Government | Executed with Luis Segura Vilchis and the Pro brothers for his participation in the bomb attack on 13 November 1927.[6] | |
| Father Miguel Agustín Pro | 23 November 1927 | Firing squad | Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and terrorism | Mexico, Federal Government | A Mexican Jesuit Catholic priest also known as Blessed Miguel Pro, executed with Luis Segura Vilchis, Juan Tirado Arías, and his brother Humberto for his participation in the bomb attack on 13 November 1927. Pro's arrest, lack of trial, and evidential support gained prominence during the Cristero War, and his execution, intended to frighten Mexican Catholics, served the opposite effect. Known for his religious piety and innocence, Pro was beatified in Rome on September 25, 1988, by Pope John Paul II as a Catholic martyr, killed "in odium fidei" (in hatred of the faith).[7] [8] | |
| Humberto Pro | 23 November 1927 | Firing squad | Conspiracy to commit murder, attempted murder, and terrorism | Mexico, Federal Government | Executed with Luis Segura Vilchis, Juan Tirado Arías, and his brother Miguel for his participation in the bomb attack on 13 November 1927.[9] | |
| José de León Toral | 9 February 1929 | Firing squad | Magnicide and terrorism. | Mexico, Federal Government | 29 years-old anti-government Roman Catholic who was condemned to death for the murder of Mexican president-elect, Álvaro Obregón. At 17 July 1928, at 2:20 pm, De León Toral shot Obregón six times while the president-elect ate in a restaurant named "La Bombilla" localised in San Ángel neighborhood, now Álvaro Obregón borough, Mexico City.[10] De León was a destaca citizen without a criminal record, a father of three, a caricaturist, and a professional soccer player; he was convinced that the Obregón death would end the civil war.[11] He was also opposed to the government's advocacy of anti-Catholicism. Some have considered him a martyr or hero, but the official position of the Mexican government and Mexican Roman Catholic clergy is that he was an extremist.[12] Toral was shot in Palacio de Lecumberri, Mexico City. Reportedly, his last words were, "¡Viva Cristo Rey!" (English: Long Live Christ the King), the frequent defiant rallying cry of the Cristeros. | |
| Juan Castillo Martínez | 17 February 1938 | Firing squad (not an official, state-sanctioned execution) | Rape and murder. | Male soldier who was condemned to death for the rape and murder of an 8-year-old girl. He was sentenced with inconsistent evidence. After his death sentence was passed, he was removed from the courtroom and summarily executed under the ley fuga, a law active in Mexico at the time that allowed authorities to kill prisoners who attempted to flee; the law was also often used as an excuse for summary executions. After his death, rumors of his innocence persisted. Alleged apparitions of his ghost and miracles attributed to him caused some to believe that Juan Castillo, now called "Juan Soldado", was unjustly executed. He became an apocryphal saint venerated in some places near the U.S.-Mexican border.[13] | ||
| Francisco Ruíz Corrales | 17 June 1957 | Firing squad | Rape and murder. | 27-year-old laborer who was condemned to death for the rape and murder of María de la Luz Margarita Mendoza Noriega, a 9-year-old girl. On 18 January 1957, in Hermosillo, Sonora, Ruíz Corrales kidnapped the girl and carried her to an isolated place, where he raped and strangled her. The victim sold tomatoes in a local market, and several witnesses saw her go with Ruíz Corrales. He was arrested the same day of the murder and was sentenced to capital punishment one week afterwards. He was executed together with José Rosario Zamarripa, another man condemned for similar crimes.[14] [15] [16] | ||
| Name of the convict | Execution date | Method | Charge | Jurisdiction | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| José Rosario Don Juan Zamarripa | 17 June 1957 | Firing squad | Kidnapping, rape and murder. | 40 years-old Mexican Revolution veteran who was condemned to death for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a young girl named Ernestina Leyva whose age has been inconsistently reported, according to official chronist of Hermosillo, Gilberto Escobosa, she was only 3 months old but other authors say she was 4 years old. The crime was committed in 1950, when Zamarripa kidnapped the girl, raped and strangled her and threw the body in the Yaqui River. Before his execution, he refused to confess to the Roman Catholic priest to receive the absolution. Was shot together with Francisco Ruíz.[17] [18] | ||
| José Isaías Constante Laureano | 9 August 1961 | Firing squad | Murder and insubordination. | 28 years-old male soldier who was condemned to death for the murders of fellow soldiers Cristóbal Granados Jasso and Juan Pablo MaDobecker. An intoxicated Constante shot them after a dispute. The last petition of José Constante was to not cover his eyes during the execution because he wanted to see the breaking dawn. Dead at 4:30 am, in Saltillo military prison.[19] [20] | ||
See main article: Saints of the Cristero War.
| Name of the convict | Sentenced date | Commuted date | Charge | Jurisdiction | Description | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Francisco Guerrero Pérez | 1888 | 1904 | Murder, rape and attempt murder | Serial killer who was sentenced to death for one murder and another attempt, he was 48 years-old and was suspected of 20 murders more. His sentence was commuted to 20 years-prison time by Presidential order (Porfirio Díaz, the Mexican President in this time, had an anti-death penalty posture). Mistakenly he received an indult in 1904. In 1908, Guerrero killed again, his victim an elderly woman who was raped and beheaded. Guerrero was sentenced to death again, but died of a cerebral thromboembolism in 1910 before his execution.[22] | ||
| Wenceslao Moguel | 1915 | 1915 | Treason | Was accused of belonging to an insurgent group during the Mexican Revolution, was fusilled but survived to eight shoots and the coup de grâce into his face. Received the indult by the Government and 500.00 pesos.[23] | ||
| Eusebio Yocupicio Soto | 1950 | ? | Murder | Yoreme Amerindian man who was sentenced to death, together with three other Yoreme men, accused of 7 murders committed in Huatabampo, Sonora, during 1950. According to the police investigations, Yocupicio and the other men maintained homosexual relationships, this rumor spread around the community, and the men were stigmatized, leading them to murder and mutilate seven men who they blamed for the rumor. Yocupicio and his accomplices were sentenced to death but were commuted to 30 years-prison. Several extenuating circumstances were considered as the socio-cultural conditions and the antecedent discrimination.[24] [25] [26] | ||
| Basilio Humo Valenzuela | 1950 | ? | Murder | Yoreme Amerindian man condemned to death together with Eusebio Yocupicio. | ||
| Leonardo Yocupicio Huipas | 1950 | ? | Murder | Yoreme Amerindian man condemned to death together with Eusebio Yocupicio. | ||
| Adelaido Huipas Quijano | 1950 | ? | Murder | Yoreme Amerindian man condemned to death together with Eusebio Yocupicio. | ||
| Dykes Askew Simmons | March 1961 | 1969 | Murder | American rampage killer who was sentenced to death for triple homicide. In 1959, he massacred three men, Villagómez Pérez family members. Simmons was a known mental patient, for this reason his sentence was commuted to 30 years-prison.[27] [28] | ||
| Dr. Alfredo Ballí Treviño | November 1961 | 1981 | Murder | 33 years-old male physician who was sentenced to death for the murder and dismemberment of his boyfriend, Jesús Castillo Rangel. He was the last man condemned to death in Mexico. In October 1959, Dr. Treviño murdered his boyfriend after a dispute by drugging him and cutting his throat with a scalpel, Treviño then dismembered the body and placed the remains in a box, and buried it in a relative's farm under the pretext of it being "medical waste". After his capture, Treviño was incarcerated at the Topo Chico prison to await his execution, but his condemnation was commuted to 30 years-prison after the death penalty was abolished in Nuevo León. Was noted as a 'model prisoner' and was released after 20 years, after his release he re-obtained his medical license and continued his work as a physician. Died of natural causes in 2009 at the age of 80 years old. His history inspired the fictional character Hannibal Lecter.[29] [30] [31] | ||