Posted on 06/05/2008 1:05:45 PM PDT by SmithL
AMSTERDAM, Netherlands (AP) --
Mexico appealed to the U.N.'s highest court Thursday to block the executions of Mexicans in the United States, arguing U.S. officials have failed to comply with a judgment ordering a review of their trials.
The International Court of Justice said Mexico asked the court for an "interpretation" of an earlier ruling to clarify its meaning when it asked the U.S. to "review and reconsider" the cases of the condemned prisoners.
Until that can be done, Mexico said the United States "must take any and all steps necessary" to ensure that none of its citizens is executed, and asked the court to take urgent measures to intercede.
The court, informally known as the World Court, ruled in 2004 that the convictions of some 50 Mexicans on death row around the United States violated the 1963 Vienna Convention, which provides that people arrested abroad can have access to their home country's consular officials.
The court, which sits in The Hague, said the Mexicans should have new hearings in U.S. courts to determine whether the violation affected their cases.
President Bush accepted the judgment and asked state courts to review the cases. Texas refused.
Jose Medellin, a 33-year-old inmate condemned in the gang rape and murder of two teenage girls 15 years ago, appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court on the basis of the World Court's ruling.
The Supreme Court rejected the appeal March 25, saying Bush had overstepped his authority when he ordered the courts to carry out the decision from The Hague and review the prisoners' cases.
The Constitution "allows the president to execute the laws, not make them," said the majority opinion.
Medellin's execution has been set for Aug. 5.
(Excerpt) Read more at sfgate.com ...
I refer you to Article VI:
This Constitution, and the laws of the United States which shall be made in pursuance thereof; and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land; and the judges in every state shall be bound thereby, anything in the Constitution or laws of any State to the contrary notwithstanding."
Any such treaties that assign a legal jurisdiction in the U.S. higher than the U.S. Supreme Court to any other entity (such as the U.N. and its constituent courts) are unconstitutional, plain and simple. Treaties that contradict the Constitution are not valid. In addition, as the "supreme law of the land," no legislation or legal decisions can violate the Constitution.
I also refer you to Article III, Section 2, which states:
Section 2. The judicial power shall extend to all cases, in law and equity, arising under this Constitution, the laws of the United States, and treaties made, or which shall be made, under their authority;--to all cases...between a state, or the citizens thereof, and foreign states, citizens or subjects.
The only judicial power applicable to the Mexican nationals in question, per the U.S. Constitution, is that of the U.S. So, maybe they should have access to Mexican consular officials, but, as they have been tried and convicted in proper accordance with U.S. law, the Mexicans can not use the U.N. to stay the executions without violating our sovereignty, since the U.N. courts have no jurisdiction over crimes committed within the U.S.
Of course, they will continue to whine about us supposedly violating their sovereignty.
Boy, when I think of the damage somebody like Obama can do, it is really scary. And of course, McCain does not warm my heart, he is scary also, but in a different way.
very nice.
“BHO is all ears when it comes to the UN”
Don’t you know you can’t talk about his ears?
You’re totally right about his intentions.
Mexico has executions, they’re just carried out on a whim by the drug lords rather than by the state after a fair trial.
Supposedly, the President made a jester of goodwill to the Mexicans by asking Texas to reconcider the executions. But hell, who knows?
This will give Bush another chance to side with Mexican criminals against the people of the United States.
Maybe the World Court can order the cessation of executions of police officers in Mexico.
At least their criminals in our country have had the right to a fair trial before sentencing. That’s a privelege Americans murdered by Mexicans criminals here illegally never had.
The number of Americans murdered in Mexico every year (42 on average) is nearly equal to the total number of Mexicans on American death rows. When is the UN going to protect them?
Or set up scaffolds at popular crossing areas and "blood-eagle" the condemned upon them. I think that would curb ILLEGAL ENTRY/INVASION quite a bit.
These threads just aren't the same without dane.
;-)
The Federales also carry out summary executions. Off course the Federales are owned by the drug lords...
Was looking like a fool the GESTURE that Bush was looking for?
Appeasing the criminals in Mexico is a fool's errand.
trying to give a damn... How come Mexico can't fight this hard to clean up their own country?
I agree. Except that I think it's Mexico's responsibility to "take any and all steps necessary" to keep their criminals in their own country. Then it can be guaranteed they won't be executed in the US.
Baghdad...........Tehran............Mexico City
Uh, good luck with that...we're talking about Texas here, not California....
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