World Court ordering US to stay death sentences of Mexicans

arbilad · Head Chef

World Court ordering US to stay death sentences of Mexicans

LoudmouthMormon · Profuse Pontificator

And the US is telling them to get bent, right? The article never seems to get around to telling us what the US response was...

arbilad · Head Chef

I don't know what the US response is. But the US collectively hasn't had a lot of backbone lately.

lundbaek · Profuse Pontificator

World Court to U.S.: Halt Mexican executions
Order could stop lethal injection of alien who gang raped, murdered 2 teen girls

Posted: July 16, 2008
8:05 pm Eastern

© 2008 WorldNetDaily

Jose Medellin

The United States must stay executions of five Mexicans on Texas' death row until their cases can be reviewed, the U.N.'s highest court says.

Mexico requested that the court stop Texas from executing its citizens at least one convicted of gang rape and murder of two teenage girls claiming the U.S. is ignoring an International Court of Justice directive to evaluate the cases of 51 Mexicans on state death rows.

The court found that the inmates had been deprived of assistance from their consulate after their arrest, the Associated Press reported.

The U.N. court order issued today arrives only weeks before Texas' scheduled lethal injection of Jose Medellin, a Mexican convicted of gang raping and murdering two girls in Houston.

According to the news report, Mexico chief advocate Juan Manuel Gomez-Robledo complained to the court at last months hearings, saying the U.S. was "in breach of its international obligations."

U.S. legal adviser John Bellinger III disputed Gomez Robledo's assessment, saying the government has gone to "extraordinary lengths" to cooperate with state courts and the World Court order.

President Bush told states to adhere to the court directive and asked Texas to review Medellin's conviction before his Aug. 5 lethal injection.

Bellinger called the federal government actions "highly unusual."

"It almost never happens that the federal government enters an appearance in state court proceedings," he said.

Texas rejected the request, and the Supreme Court ruled President Bush does not have the power to force state courts to obey orders from the World Court in a 6-3 vote. According to the AP report, Texas Gov. Rick Perry has received letters from both Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey asking him to review Medellin's case.

The World Court, the U.N.'s judicial arm for resolving disagreements between nations, holds no enforcement powers.

arbilad · Head Chef

So, Bush caved. It's good that Texas didn't.

Organist · Senior Member

Bush caved? While there are many things to dislike about him, one thing I always appreciated was his willingness to stand up against popular voices when he believed he or America was right.

lundbaek · Profuse Pontificator

I wouldn't call what President Bush did "caving". It seems to me he is following an agenda favourable to Mexico and Mexicans. He has refused to initiate action to stop illegal immigration. And it is becoming increasingly obvious to me and plenty of others that President Bush and Co. have no intention of securing US borders against illegal immigration. On top of that, President Bush continually pushes for blatant amnesty for illegal aliens, a proposal for which there is overwhelming public opposition. The President and many in Congress seem intent on actually promoting further immigration from Mexico in spite of the obvious will of a majority of Americans. According to one of our LDS AZ state legislators, Congressman Tom Tancredo of CO told him the LDS congressmen from UT and AZ are among the most active supporters of immigration, legal or otherwise, and amnesty.

arbilad · Head Chef

Ok, maybe caved is the wrong word, but he's definitely pushing the wrong cause in this case.