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Title: Bush, Texas at odds over death case (of Mexican national cites Geneva Convention)
Source:
Yahoo News
URL Source: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071007 ... _su_co/scotus_mexican_national
Published: Oct 8, 2007
Author: By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Post Date: 2007-10-08 19:16:04 by Zipporah
Keywords: None
Views: 231
Comments: 10
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer Sun Oct 7, 12:09 PM ET WASHINGTON - To put it bluntly, Texas wants President Bush to get out of the way of the state's plan to execute a Mexican for the brutal killing of two teenage girls. Bush, who presided over 152 executions as governor of Texas, wants to halt the execution of Jose Ernesto Medellin in what has become a confusing test of presidential power that the Supreme Court ultimately will sort out. The president wants to enforce a decision by the International Court of Justice that found the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexican-born prisoners violated their rights to legal help as outlined in the 1963 Vienna Convention. That is the same court Bush has since said he plans to ignore if it makes similar decisions affecting state criminal laws. "The president does not agree with the ICJ's interpretation of the Vienna Convention," the administration said in arguments filed with the court. This time, though, the U.S. agreed to abide by the international court's decision because ignoring it would harm American interests abroad, the government said. Texas argues strenuously that neither the international court nor Bush, his Texas ties notwithstanding, has any say in Medellin's case. Ted Cruz, the Texas solicitor general, said the administration's position would "allow the president to set aside any state law the president believes is inconvenient to international comity." The Supreme Court will hear arguments in the case Wednesday. Medellin was born in Mexico but spent much of his childhood in the United States. He was 18 in June 1993, when he and other members of the Black and Whites gang in Houston encountered Jennifer Ertman and Elizabeth Pena on a railroad trestle as the girls were taking a shortcut home. Ertman, 14, and Pena, 16, were gang-raped and strangled. Their bodies were found four days later. Medellin was arrested a few days after the killings. He was told he had a right to remain silent and have a lawyer present, but the police did not tell him that he could request assistance from the Mexican consulate under the 1963 treaty. Medellin gave a written confession. He was convicted of murder in the course of a sexual assault, a capital offense in Texas. A judge sentenced him to death in October 1994. Medellin did not raise the lack of assistance from Mexican diplomats during his trial or sentencing. When he did claim his rights had been violated, Texas and federal courts turned him down because he had not objected at his trial. Then, in 2003, Mexico sued the United States in the International Court of Justice in The Hague on behalf of Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on death row in the U.S. who also had been denied access to their country's diplomats following their arrests. Mexico has no death penalty. Mexico and other opponents of capital punishment have sought to use the court, also known as the World Court, to fight for foreigners facing execution in the U.S. The international court ruled for Mexico in 2004, saying the sentences and convictions should be reviewed by U.S. courts. Medellin's case was rejected by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The Supreme Court agreed to hear his appeal. While it was pending in Washington, Bush issued a memo to his attorney general declaring that state courts must enforce the international court's ruling. Two weeks after the memo, Bush said the U.S. was withdrawing from an international accord that lets the world court have the final say when citizens claim they were illegally denied access to their diplomats when they are jailed abroad. The treaty had been used by the United States in its lawsuit against Iran for taking Americans hostages in 1979. The Supreme Court weighed in next, dismissing Medellin's case while state courts reviewed Bush's order. Texas courts again ruled against Medellin, saying Bush overstepped his authority by intruding into the affairs of the independent judiciary. In April, the Surpeme Court stepped in for a second time, putting Bush and the state he governed on opposite sides and setting up an unusual alliance of interests. Foreign inmates on death rows in California, Florida, Texas and up to a dozen other states could be affected by the outcome. Four of Medellin's fellow gang members also received the death penalty and one, Sean O'Brien, was executed last year. Two others had their death sentences commuted to life in prison in 2005 when the Supreme Court barred executions for those who were age 17 at the time of their crimes. Another defendant does not have an execution date. A sixth participant, Medellin's brother, Vernancio, was 14 at the time. He was tried as a juvenile and is serving 40 years in prison. Ertman's parents said they want to see the older Medellin brother put to death, pointing out in court papers that his case has been going on longer than their daughter lived. The case is Medellin v. Texas, 06-984. ___ On the Net: International Court of Justice: http://tinyurl.com/yotzz7
This undated photo released by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows death row inmate Jose Ernesto Medellin. Texas wants President Bush to get out of the way of the state's plan to execute a Mexican for the brutal killing of two teenage girls. Bush, who presided over 152 executions as governor of Texas, wants to halt the execution of Medellin in what has become a confusing test of presidential power that the Supreme Court, which hears the case this week, ultimately will sort out. (AP Photo/Texas Department of Criminal Justice)
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#1. To: All (#0)
Equal Opportunity Executioner Bush Finds Mexican Exception If there is any area of public policy where George W. Bush has been consistently "dead certain," it is almost certainly in the application of the death penalty. As Texas Governor and later as President, Bush showed himself to be an equal opportunity executioner, content to condemn the mentally ill, the developmentally disabled, racist thugs and even born-again Christians alike. But today we learned even George W. Bush's apparent bloodlust has its limits, especially when it conflicts with his ongoing efforts to reach out to Mexico and Hispanic voters. In an apparent reversal of its long-standing policy of killing all comers, the Bush administration has asked the Supreme Court to block Texas from executing convicted rapist and murderer Jose Ernesto Medellin, citing the requirements of the 1963 Vienna Convention. Certainly no friend of the International Court of Justice in particular or international law in general, the President wants to "enforce a decision by the International Court of Justice that found the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexican-born prisoners violated their rights to legal help as outlined in the 1963 Vienna Convention." Despite its insistence that "the president does not agree with the ICJ's interpretation of the Vienna Convention," the administration argued the Mexican case would harm American standing abroad. Given his history, this Mexican exception to the rule of George W. Bush's willingness to flip the switch seems startling (though, as I'll describe below, perhaps not totally inconsistent or unexpected). After all, Bush carried out 152 executions during his days as Governor of Texas, sparing only one death row inmate after his routine 15 minute clemency review. Even those similarly adopting Jesus as their favorite philosopher could expect no leniency from Bush. When his allies on the religious right pressured him to spare murderess turned jailhouse born-again Christian Karla Faye Tucker, Governor Bush displayed his trademark resolve - and compassion. As Time recounted in 1999: Bush's seeming bloodlust towards criminal defendants almost derailed his 2000 presidential campaign. During his second debate against Al Gore in October 2000, Bush was asked about his position on hate crimes laws in the wake of the brutal dragging death of African-American James Byrd in his home state of Texas. His disturbing response - accompanied by a sickening grin - produced gasps among the audience: Even the tone-deaf Bush sensed he had crossed the line. In the third debate, he wisely retreated, acknowledging he was "not proud" of Texas' number one ranking in executions. As President, George W. Bush has maintained his hard line towards criminals and upholding their punishments. His administration argued - unsuccessfully - before the Supreme Court that developmentally-disabled and under-18 death row inmates too deserve their chance at the gallows. In June, Attorney General Gonzales announced that the Bush department of Justice would push for new, harsher mandatory minimum sentencing guidelines in the wake of the Supreme Court's Booker decision. Shortly before his resignation, Gonzales unveiled new federal regulations enabling the Attorney General to "fast-track" executions in state capital punishment cases. All of which begs the question: why the apparent exception for Medellin and the other Mexican prisoners? This is clearly more than George W. Bush's potential (though unlikely desire) to atone for his father's unfortunate reference to his Mexican-American grandchildren as the "little brown ones." In all likelihood, Bush's deference here is part and parcel of his ongoing project to woo Hispanic voters for the GOP dating back to his days in Texas. His early support for Mexican President Vicente Fox, his call for improved relations with Mexico and especially his proposed immigration reform program all sought to boost the Republicans' performance among the rapidly growing Hispanic electorate. Unfortunately for Bush, the rabid xenophobia of the GOP base and its budding anti-immigrant fervor have dashed those hopes. Republicans are losing the ground they had gained among the nation's exploding Hispanic communities, now totaling 43 million. While John Kerry carried only 53% of the Hispanic vote in 2004, by 2006 Democrats won 69% support among Hispanics who went to the polls. So as it turns out, Bush is consistent after all. In the application of the death penalty, George W. Bush insists, he will be "the decider."
#2. To: Zipporah (#1)
(Edited)
Fuck Bush. Fuck the Mexicans. Fuck 'em all. Bush wants to stop it so he can garner more votes for the GayOldParty from hispanics. Never mind that the guy really is guilty as sin. Bush is an obscene, evil hypocoritical little pISSant.
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Tucker Carlson of Talk magazine described the smirk Bush wore as he mimicked convicted murderer turned Christian Karla Faye Tucker begging, "Please don't kill me," something she never actually did.
"The three men who murdered James Byrd, guess what's going to happen to them? They're going to be put to death. A jury found them guilty. It's going to be hard to punish them any worse after they get put to death."
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