World Court Rules U.S. Execution Defied Order

By Ken Ellingwood
Los Angeles Times
http://www.theledger.com/article/200901 ... fied_Order

Published: Monday, January 19, 2009 at 10:50 p.m.
Last Modified: Monday, January 19, 2009 at 10:50 p.m.
MEXICO CITY | The International Court of Justice ruled Monday that the United States violated its order last year when Texas proceeded with the execution of a Mexican national convicted of murder and rape.

The court, based in The Hague, said the United States remained bound by a 2004 ruling to review the cases of 51 Mexican citizens on death row. That earlier decision said the United States violated the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by not advising the Mexican arrestees of their right to seek help from their nation's consular officials.

However, in Monday's ruling, the court, also known as the World Court, rejected Mexico's request that it require U.S. authorities to provide a guarantee to review and reconsider each case.

Mexico formally outlawed the death penalty in 2005, and the execution of Mexicans for capital crimes in the United States is a hot-button issue. Many Mexicans think their countrymen are more likely to face the death penalty than U.S. citizens charged with the same crimes.

After Monday's ruling, Mexico called on the incoming Obama administration to ensure that the United States meets its obligations under international treaty to safeguard the rights of Mexican arrestees.

The ruling centered on the Aug. 5 execution of Jose Ernesto Medellin Rojas, convicted in the rape and murder of two teenage girls in 1993. Mexico sought to reopen all 51 remaining death-row convictions in hopes of winning new trials or getting charges dropped.


This story appeared in print on page A7