A Texas Patriot on Trial in Mexico: Jose Antonio Navarro and the Texan Santa Fe Expedition

Navarro pleaded that he felt compelled to "pursue his natural right of physical preservation" (p. 55) when agitated colonists encouraged him to sign the Texas declaration of independence. The prosecutor for the Ordinary Military Tribunal decided not to pursue a death sentence for Navarro but then resigned his position, claiming poor health. The new prosecutor requested the execution of Navarro but the court's legal advisor concluded that the military tribunal had overstepped its jurisdiction.