U.S. Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice have written Governor Perry asking him to stop the execution of Jose Medellin on Aug 5 in order to protect Americans abroad. They join state Senator Rodney Ellis, who last week also asked Perry to stop the execution. You can also read the first article we wrote on this issue on BOR, “Governor Perry Endangers Texans Abroad”.

From today’s Dallas Morning News:

“Put simply, the United States seeks the help of the State of Texas,” Attorney General Michael Mukasey and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice wrote Texas Gov. Rick Perry in a letter released by defense attorneys.

Federal authorities are scrambling to bring the U.S. into compliance with the Vienna Convention, a treaty signed decades ago giving jurisdiction to the world court in cases concerning consular access. The world court first called for additional review for dozens of Mexican citizens condemned to die without access to their consular officials in 2004 and repeated the call in another decision July 16.

“We respectfully request that Texas take the steps necessary to give effect to the …decision,” the June letter says.

…

Concern about the impending execution and its possible ramifications is so high that a group of state department officials traveled to Texas to lobby the governor’s general counsel. Some international law experts say Americans traveling abroad who are arrested may suffer if the U.S. does not abide by the treaty.

You can write Governor Perry from his website and urge him to protect Texans abroad by stopping the execution of Jose Medellin.

Last week, we wrote an article “Governor Perry Endangers Americans Abroad” saying that Perry should issue a stay of execution for Jose Medellin because executing him after the World Court demanded a stay “would endanger Americans traveling abroad who are arrested in another country and want to consult with the U.S. consulate, as is their right under the treaty signed by the United States. The United States must abide by the international agreements it signs, if it does not, then it loses power to protect its national interests or, in this case, to protect Americans who are detained in other countries.”

Today, Senator Ellis co-authored an op-ed in the Houston Chronicle saying Perry

would do well to consider how defiance of the World Court ruling will affect the safety of Americans abroad who rely on the same treaty protections that Texas violated in these cases. Gov. Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles should concur with the World Court and order a reprieve of the executions until those convictions are reviewed and reconsidered.

and

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Perry can order a temporary reprieve of execution while the Texas Legislature produces legislation allowing review and reconsideration of the convictions. Such legislation is already before the U.S. Congress. In our great democracy, passing such laws cannot be done without full debate and consideration. Given the issues at stake for all Americans, it is only right that Congress and the Texas Legislature be given the opportunity to ensure our nation lives up to the promises it made to its treaty partners.

By granting a reprieve, Gov. Perry and the Board of Pardons will enhance the reputation of Texas and the United States throughout the world.

Back during the last session of the legislature, Ellis was the only senator to vote against Jessica’s Law because it expanded the death penalty to people who had not killed. He was vindicated when the Supreme Court ruled that part of Jessica’s Law was unconstitutional. Now, he is speaking out again on a death penalty issue and so far he is again the only senator to do so.

It would be nice if the senator from Austin, Kirk Watson, would follow Ellis’ lead and also speak out on human rights issues. Austin’s senator should be a reliable leader on progressive issues, including Texas’ broken death penalty system. Right now, Watson is neither a leader or a follower on the issue of human rights and the death penalty. He is invisible. As a progressive voter in Watson’s district, I do not want my senator to be invisible and silent. I want him to stand up alongside Senator Ellis against Rick Perry.

At least Texas has Senator Ellis, but it is a shame that Ellis often has to stand alone. Perry would be more likely to listen to Ellis if all the Democrats in the Senate would also urge Perry to stay Medellin’s execution and protect Texans abroad.

According to the International Justice Project Medellin told the police he was not a U.S. citizen:

Upon his arrest on June 29, 1993, Medellin informed the arresting officers he was born in Laredo, Mexico. He also notified Pre-trial Services for Harris County that he was not a United States citizen. Despite this, Medellin was never advised of his right to contact and seek the assistance of Mexican consular officials. As a result, Mexican consular officials were deprived of any opportunity to assist him before and during his trial.

The police did not allow him to contact the Mexican consulate or tell him that he had a right to do so. Manuel Perez Cardenas, the Consul General of Mexico in Houston, said in an affidavit that Mexico would have provided immediate assistance if consular officers had been informed of his detention.

We are not hoping that Medellin is released. People like me are hoping that his sentence is reviewed. Texas now has the option of sentencing people to Life Without Parole. That is an option that did not exist at the time of Medellin’s trial. Life Without Parole is a more appropriate sentence for Medellin, especially given the fact that he did not have the assistance of the Mexican consulate before or at his original trial, as was his right under a treaty signed by the U.S.

The Executive Director of Murder Victims’ Families for Reconciliation has written a letter to Governor Perry and the Board of Pardons and Paroles asking that they grant clemency to Jeff Wood.

July 16, 2008

The Honorable Rick Perry
Governor, State of Texas
P.O. Box 12428
Austin, Texas 78711-2428

Ms. Rissie Owens, Chair
Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles
8610 Shoal Creek Boulevard
Austin, Texas 78757

Re: Jeffrey Wood, TDJC No. 999256

Dear Governor Perry and Chairwoman Owens:

Our organization consists of hundreds of family members of murder victims plus thousands of “Friends of MVFR”. Many of these members reside in Texas. I write as a representative of all of these good people.

We make an urgent plea for you to extend mercy to Jeff Wood by commuting his death sentence. He presently resides on Texas’ death row, with the date of 8/21 set for his execution. We do not ordinarily write to state officials in behalf of those on death rows. We only do so when we believe the circumstances are so extraordinary that it cries out for leniency. In those cases, there have usually been one, or possibly two, circumstances that might lead to commutation. In Wood’s case, there appear to be at least four such circumstances, probably more, but the four noted herein are the ones that strike us as being most important. First, he was not at all involved in the shooting, actually being outside, with no idea this tragedy might take place. This is combined with fact that there was no predetermined plan for a shooting to happen. Second, he has severe mental problems, likely stemming from abuse he suffered as a child. This is no fake, proven by fact that he was originally found unfit to stand trial and placed in a mental hospital. Third, no defense was presented at the penalty phase of the trial, since Wood, in his diminished capacity, ordered his lawyer not to assert a defense. Had a defense been presented, there is a good possibility that this letter would not even be necessary. Fourth, and this is very important to those of us who have lost loved ones to murder, is the fact that the victim’s father and cousin do not want Wood to be executed. On a very personal note, the wishes of a father are very important to me. I lost my beloved daughter to murder in the State of Georgia twenty years ago, and at that time, I asked the prosecutor to seek the longest possible prison term she could for the killer, but not seek the death penalty. She complied with my request. While the desires of the victims’ family members certainly are not controlling, they often lead prosecutors to seek capital punishment. Here, they should also be a factor to be considered in determining whether leniency is appropriate.

To summarize, in our humble opinions, this is the exact type of case where intervention is called for, a case in which the legal requirements of capital punishment have been met, but justice will be best served by intervention. Accordingly, our thousands of members and friends most respectfully request that you provide that justice.

With great thanks for your consideration of this vital matter,

Lorry W. Post
Executive Director

PRESS RELEASE CONTACT:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Katharine Huffman: 202-360-1991

July 16, 2008

INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE ISSUES PROVISIONAL MEASURES TO PREVENT IMMINENT VIOLATION OF U.S. TREATY OBLIGATIONS

U.S. International Relations and Safety of Americans Abroad at Risk As Execution Date Approaches

THE HAGUE, NETHERLANDS – The International Court of Justice (ICJ) today determined that the United States must take “all measures necessary” to prevent the executions of José Medellín and four other Mexican nationals sentenced to death in the state of Texas. The order will remain in effect until the ICJ resolves Mexico’s request for interpretation of its 2004 Judgment in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America).

The Avena case was filed by Mexico on behalf of 51 Mexican nationals who did not receive consular access upon arrest in the United States, in violation of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. In 2004, the ICJ issued its original decision in the case, determining that each Mexican national was entitled to a judicial hearing to ascertain whether he was harmed by the violation of his Vienna Convention rights.

Despite this binding legal obligation, the United States has failed to provide the judicial hearings mandated by the ICJ’s 2004 judgment in the vast majority of the Avena cases. José Ernesto Medellín, one of the individuals whose Vienna Convention rights were denied, is scheduled for execution in Texas on August 5^th.

Attorneys for Medellín applauded the order. “We welcome the ICJ’s order of provisional measures in response to Mexico’s request as a vindication of that institution’s faith in the United States’s political will and ability to enforce the Avena Judgment,” said Donald Francis Donovan of Debevoise & Plimpton LLP, New York, counsel to Mexico and to Medellín. “We are confident the United States and the State of Texas will comply with the ICJ’s order and stay the August 5^th execution of Mr. Medellín.”

According to international law experts, the situation has implications far beyond the individual cases at issue. Professor Sarah H. Cleveland, Louis Henkin Professor of Human and Constitutional Rights and Co-Director of the Human Rights Institute at Columbia Law School, expressed concern about how U.S. global governmental allies and business partners will view future international treaties and agreements if the United States fails to honor its international obligations.

“It is critical that the United States abide by the commitments undertaken when we signed and ratified the Vienna Convention,” said Cleveland. “The United States has relied repeatedly on the enforceability of this and other treaty obligations abroad. If we do not keep our promises to our international partners, we lose the ability to protect our own citizens abroad, and damage our nation’s reputation as a reliable player on the world stage.”

On Monday, July 14^th, the U.S. Congress introduced the “Avena Case Implementation Act of 2008” in order to implement the ICJ’s Avena judgment. This legislation empowers the federal courts to hear the Vienna Convention claims of foreign nationals who were not advised of their consular rights, including the Mexican nationals named in the Avena judgment. The legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.

Today’s ICJ order came following the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decision in Medellín v. Texas. In March of this year, the Court held that the U.S. is under a binding legal obligation to abide by an International Court of Justice ruling requiring review of the cases of Medellín and other Mexican nationals not provided with consular access. But the Supreme Court concluded that Congressional action is necessary to make the Avena Judgment enforceable in U.S. courts.

Although a bill has been introduced in the House, congressional enactment of the legislation would take longer than the few weeks remaining before the August 5^th execution date. Postponement of the pending execution is critical so that Congress has adequate time to act in accordance with the Supreme Court’s decision.

“Texas should stay the pending execution not only out of respect for the ICJ – an international institution that the United States helped build and in which the U.S. has long been a participant – but also out of respect for the U.S. Congress and for the legal obligations that the United States has undertaken to its neighbor, Mexico,” said Gregory Kuykendall, an attorney and Director of the Mexican Capital Legal Assistance Program. “We would expect no less of Mexico or any other Vienna Convention signatory if the tables were turned.”

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Governor Perry, in a move that will endanger not only Texans but all Americans abroad, says that he will go ahead with an execution despite a ruling by the World Court that an upcoming Texas execution should be stayed. Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations (“Vienna Convention”) requires that people detained in a foreign country be advised of their rights to contact consular officials of their own country, but a person from Mexico scheduled for execution in Huntsville on Aug 5 was not advised of his rights under the Vienna Convention.

Perry’s decision will endanger Americans traveling abroad who are arrested in another country and want to consult with the U.S. consulate, as is their right under the treaty signed by the United States. The United States must abide by the international agreements it signs, if it does not, then it loses power to protect its national interests or, in this case, to protect Americans who are detained in other countries. President Bush agrees with the World Court in this case, probably because as president he recognizes his responsibilites to protect Americans abroad and to abide by treaties that this country has signed.

I lived many years abroad, so Perry’s indifference to the impact his policy could have on Americans abroad strikes close to home for me. If an American traveling abroad is detained by officials in a foreign country, they should be able to contact the American embassy or consulate and receive advice on that country’s legal system. However, Perry has undermined the rights of Americans traveling abroad by not protecting the rights of non-citizens in America.

If a Texan being detained by police in another country asserts their rights under the Vienna Convention, the foreign authorities could now respond, “Sorry, Rick Perry and the government of Texas does not recognize the protections of the Vienna Convention, so your request is denied.”

The Vienna Convention, as are all treaties between the United States and other countries, is part of the supreme law of the United States according to the U.S. Constitution. Abiding by the ruling of the World Court would not undermine American sovereignty, it would bolster it. We are a nation of laws. The Vienna Convention is one of our laws. We should abide by it.

From the Houston Chronicle:

Texas will go ahead with the scheduled Aug. 5 execution of Houston rapist-killer Jose Medellin despite Wednesday’s United Nations world court order for a stay, a spokesman for Gov. Rick Perry said.The UN’s International Court of Justice’s call for stays in the cases of Medellin and four other Mexican nationals awaiting execution in Texas came in response to a petition filed last month by the Mexican government.The petition sought to halt executions to allow for review of the killers’ cases to determine whether denying them access to the Mexican Consulate after arrest harmed their trial defenses.The Geneva Convention stipulates that, upon request, an alien offender’s national consulate must be notified of an arrest.and

International law expert Sarah Cleveland, a professor of human and constitutional rights at New York City’s Columbia Law School, said in an e-mail that if the U.S. fails to act on the world court order, other countries may follow suit.”This can only come back to hurt U.S. citizens when they are detained abroad,” she wrote.” … When a global leader like the U.S. refuses to comply with its clear international legal obligations (and everyone agrees that this is a clear legal obligation), it undermines the willingness of other states to comply with their own obligations and it inspires them not to trust us to obey ours.”

Governor Perry should ask the Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend a stay for Medellin and he should urge Congress to pass the “Avena Case Implementation Act of 2008”. That legislation would empower the federal courts to hear the Vienna Convention claims of foreign nationals who were not advised of their consular rights, including the Mexican nationals named in the Avena judgment. The legislation has been referred to the House Judiciary Committee for consideration.