CanWest Washington Correspondent; Reuters contributed to this report Published:"Thursday, October 11 In the months before Texas executed Canadian Stanley Faulder in June 1999, George W. Bush made it crystal clear what he thought about outsiders who challenged his state's right to carry out the death penalty. "Foreigners can't expect to get away with murder in the state of Texas," said Bush, then the governor of Texas.
That was then, this is now. Email to a friend Printer friendly Font: * * * * In a surprise legal turnabout, President Bush intervened with the U.S.
Supreme Court yesterday to save the life of a Mexican citizen facing the death penalty in Texas, claiming his execution would violate international law. The legal principles in the case are almost identical to those Bush rejected when the Canadian government appealed for clemency on behalf of Faulder, a 61-year-old Alberta man who was executed eight years ago for murdering an elderly Texas oil matriarch. In oral arguments before the Supreme Court yesterday, Bush administration lawyers said Texas cannot execute Jose Ernesto Medellin for the rapes and murders of two teenage girls because state authorities failed to notify him of his Vienna Convention rights to contact Mexican consular officials after his arrest.
U.S. Solicitor-General Paul Clement argued Texas must adhere to a 2004 decision by the International Court of Justice, which found Texas violated Medellin's rights to consular access.
The ICJ, also known as the World Court, ordered the United States to review Medellin's conviction and sentence. After Texas initially balked, Bush personally intervened by issuing a presidential order in 2005, instructing the state to comply with the ICJ ruling. Bush's decision to appeal the case to the Supreme Court has infuriated the families of his victims and conservatives in Texas.
Texas Solicitor-General Ted Cruz argued Bush exceeded his authority by directing a state court to review the case. Several justices seemed to agree with Cruz. "I don't know on what basis we can allow some international court to decide what is the responsibility of this court, which is the meaning of the United States law," Justice Antonin Scalia said.
Although Faulder was not notified of his consular rights at the time - and Canadian officials never learned of his 1978 conviction until 1992 - a Texas review board determined the oversight was a "harmless error." One major difference in the cases of Faulder and Medellin is that, unlike the Mexican government, Canada was never able to challenge the actions of Texas authorities before the ICJ. Throughout his presidency, Bush has sought to expand presidential powers over Congress.
In this instance, his order directing Texas to comply with the IJC ruling is seen as an attempt to impose presidential authority over state legislatures and courts.
News RSS