U.S. still in talks to delay Mexicans' executions, lawyers say

U.S. still in talks to delay Mexicans' executions, lawyers say
June 20, 2008 - 4:40PM
Jeremy Roebuck

The Bush administration's "extraordinary" effort to comply with an international court order granting new hearings for 51 Mexican nationals on death row has been stymied by federal laws, U.S. State Department lawyers said Friday.

"The issue of capital punishment arouses deep feelings," said State Department legal adviser John B. Bellinger III, according to transcripts filed with the court. "But this is not about the death penalty."

Bellinger told the International Court of Justice -- the principal judicial organ of the United Nations -- that while the administration understands its obligation to abide by the court's rulings, current U.S. law does not require individual states to follow suit.

His arguments came during the second day of hearings at The Hague in a case that has aggravated relations between the nation and its southern neighbor and put the president in a tight spot with the state he calls home.

In 2003, the world court ordered the United States to grant new reviews for the Mexicans after finding that local law enforcement had not told the men about their right to contact their consulates after their arrests.

But Mexico returned to the panel this week saying officials in the United States had not done enough to ensure those hearings happened.

Texas, in particular, seems to be willfully disregarding the international court by setting an Aug. 5 execution date for one of the men -- Jose Ernesto Medellin.

The state's courts could schedule executions for four others -- including two sentenced to die for crimes committed in Hidalgo County -- before the end of the summer, said Joel Antonio Hernandez Garcia, legal adviser to Mexico's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

But when arguing before the court Friday, Hernandez was careful to point out that his country is only asking for new hearings to determine whether the lack of consular involvement may have affected the outcome of their trials.

"Nowhere are (we) requesting Texas refrain from executing Mr. Medellin," he said. "Nowhere does it ask the governor to grant a reprieve."

In March, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that under current federal law, individual states are under no obligation to obey international treaties -- such as the one establishing the international court's jurisdiction. And while Congress could pass legislation that would force the states to obey, it has not done so yet.

Still, U.S. officials continue to negotiate with Texas in an effort to ensure compliance, Bellinger said.

The State and Justice departments urged Gov. Rick Perry last week to grant the court-ordered reviews and floated the idea of a panel of outside judges who could review the Mexicans' cases and make recommendations to Texas' clemency board.

The Bush administration has also asked the state to hold off on Medellin's execution until the matter is resolved.

"The president is a former governor of Texas and that made it politically difficult for him to order his former state" to deviate from its regular judicial procedure, Bellinger said. "Especially (in a case involving) a confessed murderer and rapist of two young girls."

After proceedings ended Friday, court staff said the justices were sensitive to the need to act quickly and would decide whether to issue an injunction soon. But they could not project when their decision might be forthcoming.

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Jeremy Roebuck covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach him at (956) 683-4437.

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