By CHRISTY HOPPE
The Dallas Morning News
AUSTIN — The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles unanimously voted Monday against a reprieve for José Medellín, whose scheduled execution today has frayed relations with Mexico and the International Court of Justice.
 José Medellín |
Mr. Medellín’s case has prompted Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Attorney General Michael Mukasey to ask Gov. Rick Perry for Texas’ help in the case, but thus far the governor’s office said he is disinclined to give “additional protection” to the condemned inmate.
Mr. Medellín, 33, was convicted of the 1993 gang rape and murder of Elizabeth Pena, 16, of Houston. Jennifer Ertman, 14, was also killed when the two friends came upon a gang initiation on their way home.
Mr. Medellín, a Mexican citizen, confessed to police within three hours of his arrest but contends he was never afforded his rights under the long-standing Vienna Convention. The treaty guarantees foreign citizens a right to receive legal aid from their consulates when they are detained in another country.
The Bush cabinet members said proceeding with the Medellín execution without an additional hearing on the consulate issue would be seen by the world as a rush to judgment and could endanger Americans abroad.
“The board’s action is against the interests of the nation and risks the safety of thousands of Americans traveling and living abroad,” said Donald Donovan, a lawyer representing Mr. Medellín.
The International Court of Justice determined violations of consulate rights could be remedied through special judicial hearings that would weigh whether the cases were hurt by the failure to provide consular help. The U.S. Supreme Court said that there is a legal obligation to abide by the ICJ decision but that it would have to be done through a new federal law yet to be enacted.
The Supreme Court could still grant a stay in the case.
Otherwise, without a recommendation of clemency by the pardons board, the law allows Mr. Perry to grant only a one-time 30-day reprieve.
Even if the governor should grant that reprieve, Congress is in recess and lacks the time to pass and enact a law on consular rights.
Copyright 2008 The Dallas Morning News