Mexican-born Ramiro Rubi Ibarra lost an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court

A Texas death row inmate convicted of strangling and raping 16-year-old Maria Zuniga in 1987 lost an appeal before the U.S. Supreme Court, moving him closer to execution. The justices refused to review the case of Mexican-born Ramiro Rubi Ibarra, 53, who had been claiming he was denied legal assistance from the Mexican consulate following his arrest, a violation of Geneva Convention protections. The Supreme Court in March rejected that claim in another Texas case involving condemned prisoner Jose Medellin. He and Ibarra are among 14 Mexicans on death row in the state. Ibarra does not have an execution date.