In view of the perhaps insurmountable problems inherent in enacting legislation now to implement the Convention, the equally grave problems incident to securing agreement on an amendment to the Convention and ratification by the Senate, for Texas to have delayed action on the basis of the faint possibility that either might happen sometime in the distant future would have been pointless.
Dan was graduated from Yale University in 1963 and from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1966. He practiced law in Washington, D.C., retiring in 1996 to sail with his wife in the Caribbean. They settled in a rural area in Panama in 2001. …
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Article comments
1 - Ken Mills
As I understand it, Medellin actually had been in Texas since he was 3 years old, and never informed officials that he was not a citizen until well after he was convicted of murder.Futhermore, he confessed to the murder...his guilt or innocense has never been an issue...so, how could notifying the Mexican Consulate have been of any help? It all was a delaying tactic...Texans absolutely do not like and will not stand to be bullied by anyone and that includes our former Governor GWB or the World Court...Texans make their own laws using their own conscience as a guide and execute those laws....and, I disagree with anyone who tries to inferfere...The excessively brutal and inhuman facts of the rape, torture, and murder of 2 young, innocent beautiful daughters, sisters, granddaughers, friends of others warranted and justified the execution of the murdering monster...I only wish he could be revived and executed again, and again, ang again...maybe after being revived and executed several times, the scumbag would only then just begin to understand the hurt and misery he has brought to a whole lot of folk that didn't deserve it.
2 - Arch Conservative
Good for Texas.
The only thing that Texas did wrong in this case and also in the ase of the Honduran man they executed last week was fail to offer the executions as live pay per view events on univision and telemundo.
Don't mess with Texas!
3 - Dan Miller
Ken,
I agree that he did not inform anyone that he was a Mexican National until post-conviction. As I understand the situation, however, the authorities were required to advise him of his right to seek assistance from Mexico's legal representative.
The only way for the authorities to do that, without engaging in the sin of profiling, would have been (and would still be) to advise everyone to the following effect upon arrest: Sir (or Madam or whatever), in the event that you are not a Citizen of the United States, you are entitled to contact the legal representative of your country, whatever that may be.
Not that it would do anyone in Mr. Medellin's circumstances much good, but it would have spared Texas the cost of litigation and permitted Mr. Medellin's earlier execution. It would also have spared the U.S. some minor embarrassment and given the Washington Post a bit of editorial space in which to pontificate on something different.
Dan