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Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/08/05/scotus.execution/index.html ------------------------------------ WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Mexican national Jose Ernesto Medellin, whose death penalty conviction in the rape and murder of two teen girls sparked international controversy, was put to death in Texas on Tuesday night, prison officials said. Jose Ernesto Medellin was put to death for his part in the gang rape and murder of two Texas girls.
Jose Ernesto Medellin was put to death for his part in the gang rape and murder of two Texas girls.
Corrections spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said Medellin died at 9:57 CT.
The U.S. Supreme Court denied the last-ditch appeal of a Mexican national on Texas' death row late Tuesday, paving the way for him to be executed for a pair of brutal slayings, state corrections officials said.
Texas Department of Criminal Justice spokeswoman Michelle Lyons said about 9:15 p.m. that the court had turned down the appeal of Jose Ernesto Medellin.
Medellin's capital appeal was an unusual one that pitted President Bush against his home state in a dispute over federal authority, local sovereignty and foreign treaties.
At issue is an international court's ruling that Medellin and about 50 other Mexicans have been illegally denied access to their home country's consul. Allowing travelers such access when they are arrested abroad is common practice.
At about 7 p.m., an hour after the execution could have taken place, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Corrections said the execution was in a "holding pattern."
The high court in March ruled for Texas, allowing the execution to proceed, but Medellin's lawyers filed a flurry of emergency appeals in state and federal courts, requesting a stay. They argued that Congress and the Texas Legislature should be given a chance to pass legislation that would give their client a new hearing before punishment is carried out.
Such a bill is pending in Congress, but no recent action has been taken in either chamber. In an August 1 letter, three Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee urged Texas Gov. Rick Perry, a Republican, to postpone executions "in order to provide Congress with the time needed to consider this situation."
Texas lawmakers will not gather in session until January.
The case centers on whether the state has to give in to a demand by the president that the prisoner be allowed new hearings and sentencing. Bush made that demand reluctantly after an international court concluded Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on American death rows were improperly denied access to their consulate upon arrest, a violation of a treaty signed by the United States decades ago.
Medellin's execution will be the first of what promises to be a busy month at the state's death chamber in Huntsville. Five other men are scheduled to die by lethal injection in the next four weeks, including one on Thursday.
Medellin was 18 when he participated in the June 1993 gang rape and murder of two Harris County girls, Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena, 16. He was convicted of the crimes and sentenced to death.
The prisoner's lawyers argued Mexican consular officials were not able to meet with the man until after his conviction.
Thirteen Texas death row inmates from Mexico will be affected by the high court ruling. Only Oklahoma has commuted a capital inmate's sentence to life in prison in response to the international judgment.
The International Court of Justice ruled in 2004 that the United States had violated the rights of the prisoners, in part because officials and prosecutors failed to notify their home country, from which the men could have received legal and other assistance. Those judges ordered the United States to provide "review and reconsideration" of the convictions and sentences of the Mexican prisoners.
The world court again last month ordered the United States to do everything within its authority to stop Medellin's execution until his case could be further reviewed.
Based in The Hague, Netherlands, the International Court of Justice resolves disputes between nations over treaty obligations. The United States is a signatory to the 1963 Vienna Convention, which lays out rights of people detained in other nations. The appeal the Supreme Court ruled on in March turned on what role each branch of government plays to give force to international treaty obligations.
Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for a 6-3 majority that the international court's judgments cannot be forced upon individual states. The president also cannot "establish binding rules of decision that pre-empt contrary state law," he said, and the treaty itself does not specifically require states to remedy any treaty violations.
The chief justice added that the international court "is not domestic law," thereby restricting the president's power over states. "The executive's narrow and strictly limited authority to settle international claims disputes pursuant to an executive agreement cannot stretch so far as to support the current presidential memorandum" that would force Texas to conduct a new state trial, he wrote.
The Mexican government filed an appeal with the international court against the United States in January 2003, alleging violations of international law. Medellin filed his own federal and state appeals based on similar complaints, as well as a claim of ineffective counsel. Medellin has the support of the European Union and several international human rights groups.
Bush said he disagreed with the international court's conclusions, but agreed to comply with them. In a February 28, 2005, executive order, he said, "The United States will discharge its international obligations ... by having state courts give effect to the decision in accordance with general principles of comity in cases filed by the 51 Mexican nationals addressed in that decision."
The Bush White House typically backs states in their power to carry out executions, but Justice Department officials said that in these instances, the president's power to conduct foreign policy outweighed states' interests.
The Supreme Court originally heard the Medellin case in 2005 but did not rule on the merits. It waited instead for lower courts to resolve the federalism angle before rehearing the appeal in October. ---------------------------------------
Just curious on what some folk's thoughts are on this. Medellin had lived in the US since he was three years old and participated in the gang rape/murder of the two teenage girls when he was 18. Four years after he was tried and sentenced he finally contacted the Mexican Consulate.
Question is should "foreign nationals" especially ones that have lived almost their entire lives in this country legally or illegally be held to a different law than citizens of this country do when they commit a crime?
The argument goes also to Americans traveling or living abroad. Expect to pay the penalty when you commit a crime abroad. Thinking back to the kid that was caned in Singapore...
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I dont even think I need to state my stand.
Oh hell I will.
Mexican or American - his ass should have been put to death the hour after he was sentenced.
Our country has so many rules and regulations and treaties and policies... Kill all the bastards I say.
Eye for an eye.
That kid in Singapore- deserved an ass beatin' and if his parents would have done that before traveling, he wouldnt have been so disrespectful of others properties in the first place! lol Never heard of him getting in trouble again have we? lol Our country should go to that sort of punishment. A lot of lazy ass men and women who fill our prisons might think twice about getting off so easy and being taken care of in the jails!!!!!
You commit murder- then you should be murdered.
You rape someone- there needs to be a machine or something that can rape you right back. lol ...
something...
God, it really sucks being so opinionated! Cause I know I will get flack for it!
Posts: 1470 | Registered: Feb 2008
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A friend of mine had to write a paper on Cap Punishment. Had all kind of opinions until they saw the "7 faces of Death." Reqired watching for when I have kids one day.
U are in a boat with the man who murdered your father - no witnesses. There is a rope attached to their leg and an anvil. You have the anvil in your hands. Do you throw it over? Or let them live with their guilt?
Having said that - I think the family should be involved in the execution to assist with the exacting of justice.
quote:Originally posted by Elvzz: U are in a boat with the man who murdered your father - no witnesses. There is a rope attached to their leg and an anvil. You have the anvil in your hands. Do you throw it over? Or let them live with their guilt?
I would "shot put" that anvil! "Eye For An Eye"
-------------------- It's a sick world, and I'm a happy guy! Posts: 762 | Registered: Jan 2005
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I think most of us "blue" staters have a problem with cap punishment not because of the killing aspect, but the possibility of an innocent person being punished. Since death is so permanent and all, and since lots of people who are on death row have been found to be not guilty after DNA evidence had been discovered, we need to really be sure that we are getting rid of the right folks.
-------------------- ::patience is a waste of time:: Posts: 77 | Registered: Feb 2007
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quote:Originally posted by FUZZ: I think most of us "blue" staters have a problem with cap punishment not because of the killing aspect, but the possibility of an innocent person being punished. Since death is so permanent and all, and since lots of people who are on death row have been found to be not guilty after DNA evidence had been discovered, we need to really be sure that we are getting rid of the right folks.
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Justice should be served regardless of the location. I read a couple of weeks ago a guy punched another guy because he might have thought he touched his girlfriend. Turns out it might have been someone else or something along the lines of that. The guy who committed the crime escapes the country and is now living free where ever he is now. Off subject considering this post is about a murderer, but still that's my input and I think he should have been punished a lot more regardless of where he is.
Posts: 2004 | Registered: Mar 2007
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I am pro-cap punishment as long as there is no doubt that the asshat getting the toxic cocktail is without question guilty of the heinous crime. On another forum I visit which has a lot of folks from the UK this discussion comes up a lot and many of them on it seem to feel that capital punishment should be brought back there. A Murderer in England (for example) get a life sentence which is 20 years, meaning they are typically out in 10 with good behavior. What's a "life sentence" like in some European countries? Hal?
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I just want to know why if a murderer is sentenced to "Life" why do we the taxpayers have to support them when there is obviously no chance for rehabilitation...hence why they are sentenced to life in prison. If there is without a doubt that the person committed the murder or other death deserving penalty crime then they should be executed immediately after the sentencing..no taxpayer money should be spent on keeping the "person" alive. Just my 2 cents but I am just getting sick and tired of 'rehabilitated' criminals be released from jail and recommit said crime or other crimes.
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quote: why do we the taxpayers have to support them when there is obviously no chance for rehabilitation
I am sure that there are some cases were rehabilitation works. I know of at least one here in my town a few years ago...a lady murdered her husband (I think he was an alcoholic and beat & raped her for years)...after she left prison she found a job as a teacher in a school. The schoolboard knew about her prison time but let her have the job anyway. I know it sounds pretty absurd and this situation was wildly discussed over here in the German media.. but apparently she seems to be doing a great job...even though she is a "murderer". Even the parents of the children at that school wanted her to stay. I also heard of a case in Scandinavia (I think Sweden?) a while back were a right-wing neo-Nazi (who had murdered the leader of the local union) applied for a job after his prison time at the biggest university in the country. I think he got the job even though people knew about his past.
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footgirl you have some great ideas! rape machine??? hell yeah!! im with you all the way on that! haha, but def. dont agree with the eye for an eye thing. people are way more complex than morally this or morally that in my opinion, circumstances for murder in my opinion are WAAAYY more varied and complex than to be able to say a murderer doesnt feel guilt simply because he/she lacked the moral fiber to not kill someone, maybe if you could narrow it waaaay down, like to obvious serial killers, it would make sense to me. not sympathizing with the act of murder, but i feel really sorry for the sick people of the world and get a bad taste in my mouth thinking of the small line between getting satisfaction at the death of a human being from the murderer's perspective and from the perspective of the person enjoying them being put to death, i just dont think theres a significant enough difference between the two to justify someone feeling satisfaction over the murder of a person period
-------------------- I love beautiful feet. What else is new? Posts: 1081 | Registered: Apr 2005
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you know, after some more thought about this, i really cant say i come down hard one way or the other on the death penalty, cause i cant say that i dont think it is useful at all.... i guess the thing i have the most problem with is that people are allowed to view a person's execution, and that it is acceptable and not discouraged for the people involved in the situation (the victim's family) to hunger for the criminal to be put to death, and to see this as 'justice' and put theirselves so much above the person in question and to pretend that person isnt a human being. i watch a lot of reality A&E court type of shows and the great moments for me are the ones where a victim's family member, as hard as it is for them, gets up there looks the murderer right in the eye and says 'i forgive you, i know that hating you wont bring my (such and such) back' if we are to use the death penalty we need to it to step all the way out of medevil times i think and allow no more viewings, try to sway thought into it being unhealthy to feel some sort of release over the person's death, because we are supporting and promoting the hate that is in someone to make them feel this way, i think their needs to be more psychological outreach for victim's families if there isnt already to encourage letting go of the hate and negativity that they hold due to the circumstances surrounding losing their loved one, because it is not healthy, wont bring anyone back from the dead, and wont make anyone any happier really. if we dont do away with old schools of thought like this than America is not making big strides away from the mentality of terrorists and other people who we feel so threatened by, and that means we dont truly understand them because our thinking is not really so much better.
-------------------- I love beautiful feet. What else is new? Posts: 1081 | Registered: Apr 2005
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and i must say i believe that the 'eye for an eye' school of thought is no way at all for humans to coexist in an age where we have nuclear weapons and atom bombs, the old you f me and ill f you mentality would be the quickest way i could possibly see to human extiction
-------------------- I love beautiful feet. What else is new? Posts: 1081 | Registered: Apr 2005
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