Death row Mexican to be executed

Update (11:45pm): Despite the Supreme Court's intervention, Medillin was executed by lethal injection on Tuesday night.

Update (10:00pm): Medillin's execution was halted at the last minute as the U.S. Supreme Court considers his appeal.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously voted yesterday against a reprieve for José Medellin- a Mexican national whose death row case has complicated U.S.-Mexico relations. Medellin is scheduled to be executed tonight despite appeals from his lawyers and a recent International Court of Justice (ICJ) request to halt the executions of Mexican nationals on death row.

At the heart of the matter is the argument that the executions of Mexican nationals in Texas violates international law; even U.S. president George W. Bush attempted to intervene by using executive privilege. However, that claim has been denied by Texan officials as well as by a March Supreme Court decision.

One of the biggest Spanish-language dailies in the U.S.- La Opinion- gave its two cents on the issue:

The execution in Texas of Mexican national José Medellín scheduled for today violates international treaties…

The core issue is the violation of a treaty that has been in effect for decades, under which, when a foreigner is arrested, the authorities are obligated to notify the consul of that person’s country. The idea behind this process is to prevent local authorities from committing procedural abuses against a detainee…

Federalism is important, but international treaties ratified cannot be ignored. Other states of the Union have respected the ICJ’s decision. Texas should do likewise and cease acting as if it were independent. Its refusal to review the case is an aberration and affects the credibility of the United States as a country.

Image- Wall Street Journal

Sources- The Latin Americanist, La Opinion, AFP, Guardian UK, DentonRC.com