Should Texas Execute a Mexican? Rick Perry Will Decide

The Atlantic ^ | Jul 7 2011 | Chris Strohm

[sam_paine]

INTERESTING. Digging down a bit, the "Bellinger" guy quoted in the article just so happens to have argued (and lost) the Medellin case at SCOTUS...so he knows very damn well that the SCOTUS said quite clearly that states are not constrained by treaty until Congress gets off their asses and codifies the implementation of the treaty in law....which they never bothered to complete, even while the dems ran Congress.

FEEL FREE TO CONTACT HIM POLITELY BY EMAIL BELOW! =D

"It should be obvious to anyone, including officials in Texas, that if Americans, including Texans, are arrested and detained in some other country and the United States complains that they have not been given their consular notice it will be pointed out to us that the United States doesn't comply with our own international obligations," Bellinger said. "It cuts the legs out from under the State Department -- maybe not immediately but over the longer run -- to make arguments on behalf of Americans who are detained abroad."

Really? What is he saying here? If these other countries who have RATIFIED (USA has not) this convention CHOOSE to retaliate against Texans by NOT ADHERING TO the convention that they ratified? They would then be in violation of the convention, right? So.....?

Neither the Obama administration nor the Mexican government contend that Leal is innocent. Rather, they argue that the United States has an obligation to comply with international law. In a 76-page application to the Supreme Court for a stay, the Obama administration argued that the execution "would place the United States in irreparable breach of its international-law obligation.

What breach? The breach that already occured after his arrest in 94? He's aware of his consular advice now isn't he? He's getting plenty of consular advice now, isn't he? He's had that advice throughout his appeals, including the recent supreme court appeals. He's getting great anti-death penalty pro-bono lawyers now, isn't he?

If Perry were able to commute the sentence, (he can't) then wouldn't the US STILL be in "irreparable breach of its international-law obligation?" He wasn't notified at the right time. He's been notified. We should let him go? Because that will fix the breach-of-international-law how?

---

John B. Bellinger III Partner Washington, DC tel: +1 202.942.6599 fax: +1 202.942.5999 John.Bellinger@aporter.com John Bellinger is a partner in the firm's national and homeland security practice group as well as its international practice. Before joining Arnold & Porter LLP, Mr. Bellinger served in a number of senior positions in the US government, including as The Legal Adviser to the Department of State from 2005 to 2009 under Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and previously as the Legal Adviser to the National Security Council (NSC) at the White House from 2001-2005. He counsels US and foreign clients on national security legal and policy issues, including regulation of foreign investment in the United States, export and munitions controls, US and multilateral financial sanctions and asset controls, and extraterritorial application of US criminal and civil laws. His practice includes issues arising under the Arms Export Control Act, the Helms-Burton Act, the Iran Sanctions Act, and transactions reviewed by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). He also advises foreign governments, international organizations, and multinational corporations on international and US foreign relations law in international arbitrations, investigations, and dispute resolution and in litigation in US courts. He has extensive experience in cases arising under the Alien Tort Statute. As the State Department Legal Adviser—the most senior international lawyer in the U.S. Government—Mr. Bellinger managed more than 170 lawyers who advise the Secretary of State and State Department officials, as well as the White House and other US departments, on domestic and international law matters affecting US foreign relations. These matters include negotiation and interpretation of treaties; international arbitration and dispute settlement; US and UN financial sanctions; munitions and export controls; international criminal and law enforcement matters, including extraditions; international humanitarian law and human rights law; terrorism-related litigation; foreign sovereign and official immunities; and maritime and international environmental issues. In 2009, Mr. Bellinger received the Secretary of State’s Distinguished Service Award. Mr. Bellinger has argued cases before the International Court of Justice (Mexico v. United States–(Medellin)) and the Iran-United States Claims Tribunal in The Hague. He has appeared on numerous briefs in US federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United States, in litigation involving international and foreign relations law issues, including the Alien Tort Statute and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. He led numerous US delegations in treaty negotiations and meetings with foreign heads of state and senior government and international organization officials in Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and North Africa. Before joining the State Department, Mr. Bellinger managed Secretary Rice's confirmation process and co-directed her State Department transition team. He has extensive experience with congressional hearings and investigations and with federal ethics issues. As Senior Associate Counsel to the President and Legal Adviser to the NSC, Mr. Bellinger advised the President, Cabinet officials, the National Security Adviser, and NSC staff on a wide variety of national security and international law issues. He represented the White House in dealings with the 9/11 Commission and was one of the principal drafters of the legislation that created the Director of National Intelligence. Mr. Bellinger previously served as Counsel for National Security Matters in the Criminal Division at the US Department of Justice from 1997 to 2001, in which capacity he helped to manage sensitive criminal investigations with international and national security aspects, including terrorism, espionage, organized crime, export control, and FCPA investigations. Mr. Bellinger also served as Of Counsel to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence (1996); General Counsel of the Commission on the Roles and Capabilities of the US Intelligence Community (1995-1996); and Special Assistant to Director of Central Intelligence William Webster (1988-1991). Mr. Bellinger is also an Adjunct Senior Fellow in International and National Security Law at the Council on Foreign Relations, where he is directing a project on international justice. Mr. Bellinger has provided numerous briefings for the press and foreign audiences on international and national security law issues and appears regularly on domestic and international media, including US networks, The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer, BBC, and National Public Radio. He has lectured at dozens of US and foreign universities and law schools, including Harvard, Princeton, Yale, Columbia, Stanford, Berkeley, Duke, Michigan, Vanderbilt, Texas, Oxford, the London School of Economics, Tsinghua (China), and Leiden (the Netherlands). He is the author of numerous articles on international law issues, including op-eds in The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and International Herald Tribune. Mr. Bellinger is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, the American Society of International Law, the American Law Institute, the American Council on Germany, and the British-American Project. He is one of four US Members of the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague and a member of the US "National Group", which nominates judges to the International Court of Justice. Mr. Bellinger is a graduate of Princeton University's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs, and he holds an MA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia and a JD from Harvard Law School, where he was an editor of the Harvard International Law Journal.

[humblegunner]

[sam_paine]

What if that little girl belonged to one of us, what if she was Obama’s daughter?

"Bernie Shaw: Governor Mr President, if Kitty Dukakis Malia or Sasha were raped and murdered, would you favor an irrevocable death penalty for the killer?"

[Mr Rogers]

I spent a couple of years in Texas in the early 90s. At the time, Turkey offered to help Texas with its prison system, offering to house prisoners in Turkey for a flat fee of $2500/year. I was shocked and disappointed when Texas turned the offer down.

Had they accepted, there would be NO crime in Texas...

[Kieri]

The title is FUBAR’ed. Why is this creep an “undocumented immigrant” entitled to US benefits UNTIL a terrible crime is committed? They want to give these monsters rights under BOTH legal systems!

[bert]

-——Should Texas Execute a Mexican?-——

A person is never executed.

The convicted criminal’s death warrant is executed and the individual is put to death pursuant tho the warrant

[VideoDoctor]

Let’s see what Perry is made of.

My thoughts exactly. Let's see if he really STANDS for JUSTICE or if he starts tap dancing.

[MamaDearest]

This guy has been living in the United States since he was 2. He raped and murdered a 16 year old girl. He should die on schedule!

Funny that illegals seem to know all US laws giving them preferences and advantages over citizens, but when it comes to penalties for crimes, somehow they disconnect themselves from responsibility for their actions. Not so funny that a 16 year old girl died at the hands of this thug / murderer. If the same crime he committed were done by someone against this illegal alien criminal's mother, sister or wife, would the Mexican government "forgive" the perpetrator? What if it were Calderon's mother, wife, daughter? It seems to be different when those in power (and their families) are affected by the acts of cold and heartless murderers!

[PSYCHO-FREEP]

This criminal/murderer broke Capital laws in this country......So, how does the fact that he is an illegal alien make him exempt from carrying out a judgement for a crime he committed while in this country?

There is no excuse or answer. Smoke this turd like a Chinese light bulb.

[onyx]

Yes I remember. Recall Larry Liberal King throwing himself and his idiot program into the politics trying his best to save her?

It was shameful.

[LearsFool]

From Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary:

execute 3: to put to death in compliance with a legal sentence

[DeoVindiceSicSemperTyrannis]

Heh heh...

[onyx]

Don't Mess with Texas!

[WOSG]

Should Texas execute a MURDERER? is the correct question.

If you commited a horrible act of rape and murder, we will execute you; we dont discriminate based on where you were born.

As Rick Perry would say - Adios, Mofo!

[Sequoyah101]

EVERYTHING oblabla does is political. Hell yes, he did this to challenge Perry.

As far as the criminal rapist and murderer is concerned... fry him ASAP and get him off the public payroll. The sooner this cretin assumes room temperature the sooner he quits sucking up groceries and taking up space.

[re_nortex]

I would pull the switch on this guy!

Well, you'll have to wait in line! There's a lot of Texas patriots who would love to have the honor of sending plenty of voltage through this human debris. In fact, I would pay good money to get the privilege of pulling said switch.

Bring back Old Sparky!

Amen and amen. While lethal injection does get the job done, it's too easy of a way out for the guilty. That good idea of bringing back the electric chair could be further enhanced by televising the execution. Seeing a criminal zotted in such a manner would send a clear message to would-be thugs and those considering crossing into our state illegally:

Don't you DARE mess with Texas!

[Logical me]

I don’t give a shi@ whether this as! is a Mexican or not. Burn the rotten piece of crap and send the body to Mexico. Makes me mad as hell. Tell King Obama, and if the SC gets involved, to go to hell and Texas will carry out the law. Any reprisal from Mexico will be war.

[Larry Lucido]

“A” Mexican?

No. That’s stupid.

THIS Mexican?

Yes. Definitely.

[NorthStarStateConservative]

He’s right. He’s a Mexican. He deserves to go back to Mexico. I say we drop him off by the Sea of Cortez covered in chicken blood and let nature take its course. The Sea of Cortez is Mexican national waters, isn’t it?

[FlyingEagle]

Illegal alien rapist murderer’s lawyer is Terrorist Brnadette Dorn’s partner.

That is why Dick Obama stuck his long upturned arrogant schnooze into the whole affair.

Get a rope, hang him high next to the Nueve Laredo Bridge, stick his head on a pike after cutting the murdering rapist down. Quarter the body and send in equal parts to Mexico, Dorn. The Kenyan, and to the Mexican consulate.