President Bush Trying To Stop Execution Of Mexican National In Texas
By Logan Murphy Sunday Oct 07, 2007 11:02amAP Via Yahoo:
To put it bluntly, Texas wants President Bush to get out of the way of the state's plan to execute a Mexican for the brutal killing of two teenage girls.
Bush, who presided over 152 executions as governor of Texas, wants to halt the execution of Jose Ernesto Medellin in what has become a confusing test of presidential power that the Supreme Court, which hears the case this week, ultimately will sort out.
The president wants to enforce a decision by the International Court of Justice that found the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexican-born prisoners violated their rights to legal help as outlined in the 1963 Vienna Convention.
That is the same court Bush has since said he plans to ignore if it makes similar decisions affecting state criminal laws. Read more...
UPDATE: PERRspectives has more...
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Bush cares more about Mexico than he cares about the U. S. Let's ship him down there to be commander of the Mexican mercenaries.
This makes no sense whatsoever. Jose must have some ties to the Bush Crime Family or why would the Resident in Chief bother? Bush gets off on executions.
Bush is all three branches of government.
WTF? Bush doesn't want to see an execution go thru?
Who changed his meds?
As friends of the family, the Medellin's will always get special favors from the Bushes...
Jones @ 2:
I've got five letters which will put this into perspective: N - A - F - T - A.
...oh and five other letters: M - O - N - E - Y
Fucking ghoul.
Maybe this guy's got something in a safe deposit box somewhere? Can't think of much else that could trigger ol' compassionate conservative George into skipping one his favorite spectator sports, refried TexMex.
wasn't there speculation about Bush being involved in some satanic
killings in Brownsville TX? wonder if this guy is related to 'The Family'.
Funny how Bush was quick to throw the switch on born again fundamentalist Karla Tucker when he was governor of Texas... yet he's trying to stop this execution. Just goes to show where his true loyalty is.
Jose Ernesto Medellin
Is it possible that he's related to the Medellin cartel?
Since when did Bush give a damn about a single life?
........oh wait.......Bush saw the Pope stop an execution in Missouri and he wants give the appearance of being as all loving as J-P ll....phffft!
kaT @ 1:
Exactly!
I'm generally against capital punishment, but if you're gonna kill murderers, this fucker would be among the first I'd snuff out.
I think this guy might have been Bush's coke dealer at one time. That would explain a lot.
What would this be now? An "Activist President?" Kind of sad that the NeoCon word-smiths found a way to make "activist" a bad word -- it still means a hero to me, So I'm not going to Call Bush an Activist President -- about about an "Intrusionist" -- or maybe just a "Judicial Insurgent?" No, Intrusionist wins -- it isn't a word yet, and it calls to mind so many other great parallels.
Does anyone want to bet me, that this guy in Mexico, who all of a sudden has a life worth saving, is a total scum bag with financial ties to the Bush family or some Republican "donation gangster" -- any takers? I'll give some one 10 to 6 odds.
Yeah, I doubt Vegas would take bets on this one.
Jones @ 2:
perhaps a nice chunk of drug money for the chimpy
doesn't he have presidential pardoning powers? why let this guy go and piss off the 30% base, Bushie. He must be longing for the days when he was a texas t governer. its terry shivo all over again :\
This makes no sense to me whatsoever!!!!!!! Does Bush understand anything about the United States? He clearly is winging it! His position is dumber than dumb, if thats such a thing. So he is now against the death penalty.
He cares about that now? How about the mental retarded men his state executed -- the red states are really going love him for this
By the way, two other people that Bush found "compassionate conservatism" for;
The first was a serial killing devil worshipper in Texas.
The second was John Hinkley -- the family quietly got him released from prison a little while ago -- maybe you heard about it on CNN since it is so Liberal ( /snark ). Did you know they were buddies in College? I'm guessing that "Brownie" didn't draw the short straw. Run FEMA into the ground or do a drive-by Brownie? It would be something on horseback with a bow and arrow.
He is just trying to draw our attention from more important issues, only succeeding in reinforcing our opinion of this joke of a man.
Hey guys, more dirt on the real rulers please!
Radically Moderate @ 12:
Um ... Terry Schiavo vomes to mind
mistletoe @ 18:
The justice department heads have instructions to READ the signing statements over the actual bills congress passes. So, amongst his cronies -- Bush's whims are pretty much law. I suppose you can get confused if you are trying to find some sort of precedent or constitutional justification. Kind of like losing a limb, and you still feel like it is there -- but mostly the stump just hurts.
Come on, AP, let's see some _real_ reporting. Who _are_ these Medellins and why is this war criminal suddenly so concerned about human rights treaties?
sharkcellar @ 7:
http://mysite.verizon.net/alankh/akhblog/CorpseBride.jpg
vince @ 21:
What, like Iran -- or the collapsing dollar -- or the end of Democracy -- or rigging the 2008 elections?
Look, these guys can walk and chew gum, while robbing a bank. They are multi-disaster-taskers. There isn't any reason why this pardon in Texas isn't also important. These NeoCons are attacking on all fronts, and while we try to get the courts to function to get subpoenas answered, they are busy bribing the judge and getting pictures of him with a Girl Scout just in case.
We can't take a sip of justice anymore -- because these guys have unleashed a fire hydrant of corruption.
boosh has to do his master's bidding:
http://www.jesus-is-savior.com/False%20Religions/Wicca%20&%20Witchcraft/...
Two theories, already mentioned above:
1. This is related to NAFTA.
2. This rapist scumbag somehow has ties to the Bush Crime Family or one of its associates.
Both are valid hypotheses. I have my own:
3. This is a lame, last-ditch ploy by Chimpy to win back some of the support from Latino voters that he and the GOP have lost because of their mishandling of the immigration issue.
Anyone have another theory?
Theory:
Illegal aliens are the only people signing up to fight his war?
Let the poor children die from illnesses and let several murdering Mexican bandits live.
Sounds like politics to me.
- JJ
Gollum @ 28:
Personally, I think it's both 1 & 3. Whenever Chimpy tries some pathetic attempt at wooing Latino voters, most of the time he trots out something related to open trade with Mexico.
Clytemnestra @ 22:
He did not care about Shiavo. His interest was the political/religious nexus of his base.
bob @ 29:
That could be.
"The Three Stooges"
Starring, George W. Bush
He's an incompetent idiot, plain and simple, plus there must be something in this for him, some kind of gain —either monetary, or for "Hush-Mouth" purposes. He has no compassion so we KNOW it wasn't for that reason. "Something in Denmark is rotten." Unfortunately, we still have FIFTEEN MORE MONTHS OF THIS BUMBLING IDIOT and the remainder of the Three Stooges, Cheney and Rice.
"Jose Ernesto Medellin Is it possible that he’s related to the Medellin cartel?"
Probably. They probably made a hefty contribution to the Bush liebrary in return for getting their boy Jose off.
JJ @ 30:
I'm already angry!
What Shrub ignores completely is that the death penalty is not applied equally for the offenders' death qualifying crimes. The elected prosecutors get to pick and choose which crimes should be tried to the death penalty. OJ's case is a classic example of this situation. The L.A county D.A., a democrat, didn't go for the death penalty because of fear of alienating part of his base. If we are going to keep this draconian type of punishment, it should at least be applied equally. Either all or none. But neither side wants to clarify the injustice for fear of losing. One must ponder the money that would be saved if this penalty went away as it has in just about all other civilized countries.
As for Shrub's change of "heart(?)", it is so out of character, one must ponder what is he really up to.
NarcoTx @ 11:
Hate to break it to you, but the Medellin Cartel was named after the city of Medellin in Columbia, and has nothing to do with a family name. This is just like saying someone named Frank Austin is related to a gang of criminals based in Austin, Texas.
the asshole is trying to undo the shit he started. worse, he opposes the party's racist approach to mexican immigration.
who knew?
Well, NAFTA probably does have a lot to do with it...or some other free trade deal...otherwise known as giving away the Country. But did I read correctly that after this is decided, Bush wants to withdraw from any treaty where another Country can interfere with the death penalty being used against that Country's nationals in the U.S.?? And that is the very sort of treaty used in the Iran Hostage Crisis? So in short, in order to legally use capital punishment against foreigners, Bush is willing to let Americans in other countries be executed? That's what you call foresight.
For any Christian customers or voters who are interested in Alternative Energy. I'd frame the debate as using Man's energy (coal, oil, nuclear power) vs God's energy (wind, solar). That should be a good tack for the Democratic Party to take.
What the heck? Did the entire web page just change how it looks?
Anyways, I agree that his "change of heart" must make one suspicious as to his real motivation.
BaScOmBe @ 39:
the policy of malicious indifference to justice is the legacy of gonzo, a mexican-amurKKKan! ain't it grand. could this be a way of trying to procure the mexican voter with slogans like: "We don't want to kill ALL of Y'ALL!"
Albatross @ 5:
--------------------------
Hey do you have anything else about this lead? I've not heard anything about this case til just now and like all the other posters smell something very fishy.
if he just wanted to suck up to latinos even he has to see a million other ways, why this guy?
something is up besides political maneuvering...there is something personal there.
More info on the crime on which bush is trying to insinuate himself into the justice process:
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-scotus_oliphantoct08,...
For this POS, bush wants to intervene? This goes far beyond the reason he's giving to the press. It's total bullshit.
Don't care. More important issues. I am against the death penalty. The guy is still going to rot in jail, so? Bush is a hypocrite. We knew this already. Is this supposed to drum up some latent hate for illegals?
I care more about the courts decision earlier this year to release Posada.
Jones @ 2:
He needs a new gardener.
what a shock, Bush wants to pardon a heartless murderer. Maybe he just can't stand to see someone with the same moral standards dying.
Put the Mexican national into the gas chamber!
He can fart himself to death.
This whole incident kinda begs the question - why?
What's in it for georgie boy? While he was governor, he killed scores of prisoners on death row, even mocking one woman's pleas for clemency. There is something behind the scenes here.
He willingly tortures Iraqis and others, and kills Iraqi babies and their mothers, contravening international law. Yet he wants to save a Mexican national, because it was said that his arrest did not follow international law. Something's up. Any ideas?
Does he want to see just how much control he has over SCOTUS, in preparation for something coming in the future, where he just might have to call martial law?
Ertman's parents said they want to see the older Medellin brother put to death, pointing out in court papers that his case has been going on longer than their daughter lived.
Now that is just screwed up.
Do my eyes deceive me? The Torturer and Chief WANTS to stop an execution of a someone who obviously deserves it? This is wrong on so many levels. This man who has created the biggest blood-bath since Viet Nam? A man who has presided well over 100 executions during his tenure as Governor of Texas. He probably had them all video taped and commits onanism to them daily. This is a man who has broken more International Treaties and laws that you can shake at stick at. Now he's AGREEING with (using) the Geneva Convention? Since when does the Fed's have the right to interfere with the laws of a sovereign State? We always knew that the WarPig enjoyed being on his knees for Vincente Fox, looks like he is enjoying it with Calderon also. It never fails. Whenever I think this PIG can't sink any lower, he manages to go lower.
No, no, no...
C'mon people, THINK - Iraq quagmire is running out of willing bullet bags from among the US populace... Chimpy suddenly suggests citizenship for millions of illegal immigrants:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13082778/
Ex-Canuck @ 50:
If his arrest did not follow international law, then Texas has no leg to stand on. I believe someone asked how the Feds could get involved in a state matter. Well, if the state of Texas screwed up the arrest of a foreign national, then the Feds have every authority to step in. Actually, the pure fact that this case involves a foreign national warrants the federal governments involvement. One international law is involved, the federal government is involved.
Make up your minds people. Are we supposed to ignore international law or not?
Medellin as in the drug cartel? That'd be a sound explanation ... and the other Mexicans just got lucky because Bush certainly wouldn't get just one off - that'd be too suspicious. Makes you wonder what connections BushCo might have with Mexican drug lords? Shared business interests? CIA drug plots? Damn, our government sucks!
18 years old and already a career criminal - that's a sound argument for the death penalty right there: getting rid of people who're too far gone to ever be rehabilitated or made useful in work prisons. Sound argument for stronger, more selective immigration policy and secure borders - what other means to keep degenerates like Medellin out?
And don't excuse crime and gangs as the only choice or part of the culture - even if that were true, it still doesn't make them right, or oblige civilized people to tolerate them. There are plenty of other Mexican immigrants, both legal and illegal, who came from and found themselves in the same situation as Medellin but still choose to obey the laws and contribute to American society.
http://docket.medill.northwestern.edu/archives/002052.php
Not sure if this helps. It does explain what is going on though.
lucid fiction @ 4:
Yeah. WTF? Since when does he care if someone gets executed? He'd have pulled the switch himself while he was governor if he could have.
Janet @ 56:
Thanks. That was helpful. From the link:
On March 31, 2004, the ICJ issued its decision, which has become known as the Avena ruling. The court found the United States had breached parts of the Vienna Convention in the case of Medellin and 51 others by failing "to inform detained Mexican nationals of their rights under that paragraph" and "to notify the Mexican consular post of the(ir) detention."
The court also held that the United States violated its obligations "to enable Mexican consular offices to communicate with and have access to their nationals," under the Convention agreement.
I don't see a problem. We fucked up. We didn't follow procedure and we have to pay for it. Would you like it if a foreign country arrested an American and refused them access to the American consulate? I don't think so.
I would guess that the headline Bush is after is:
"International court prevents execution of Mexican rapist!"
Maybe Bush just sees this guy as a kindred soul... .
Bush seems to have more respect/fear of an international court than of his own congress and SCOTUS. Proves the old saw: bullies will always back down...
Ex-Canuck @ 50:
I think we have the WINNER!!!!!
navyswan @ 54:
whether one side is chosen or another is chosen, what is supposed to exist is consistency. this situation smacks of political convenience. The TEXacutioner pardoning ANYONE is a shock because we know the bloodlust he has consistently demonstrated. the question should not be for us, but for him.
navyswan @ 58:
they are all illegals...eff em
and what is the mexican consulate going to do?
this man is an animal
i dont believe in the death penalty, but i aint gonna cry for him
navyswan @ 54:
foreign national????
illegal fucking alien
uncle joe mccarthy @ 64:
People like you are as bad as Bush as far as hypocrisy. All for international law except when you disagree with it. Our nation is a signatory to the ICJ, therefore we must follow the rules. Are you also ok with Bush breaking international law to start illegal war?
uncle joe mccarthy @ 64:
And the man is not an animal. He is a man. He may be a criminal man, but he is a man. A very wise man once said that all men are equal and endowed with certain rights. In this man's case, one of those rights is to have his government informed of his detention.
This is extremely ironic. While Bush was governor of Texas, foreign citizens were executed without regard to the requirements of long-standing treaties signed by the US.
One of these was a Canadian named Stanley Faulder, convicted of murdering a 75 year old woman in 1977. Faulder was killed by lethal injection in 1999 after 22 years on death row.
US law requires that an accused or imprisoned foreign citizen be informed of his right to contact his country's consulate or government. This isn't some stupid bleeding-heart law. Foreign governments who are signatories to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations have the reciprocal obligation to give accused Americans the right to contact the US government.
Faulder was convicted and sat on death row for almost 20 years before Canada knew of his death sentence.
Would the US tolerate such a situation if Faulder had been an American on Death Row in Iran, Saudi Arabia or China?
Faulder's appeals were refused (including mitigating evidence of brain damage) by state and federal courts, and by Gov. George Bush.
http://www.law.harvard.edu/alumni/bulletin/backissues/spri2000/article6....
Annoyed Canuck @ 68:
It is hypocritical of Bush, but this time he is actually following the law. I am sorry that such a situation happened before. It should not be allowed to happen again. It wasn't right then and it wouldn't be right now to ignore the ICJ. Our nation is a signatory and is obligated to follow the rules and it should be criminal when we don't, like in the case you site.
navyswan @ 69:
I guess that's the point. Bush is following the law now.
But in the case of Stanley Faulder, he didn't give a damn. And he - as well as the federal courts - had no excuse for violating Faulder's rights, as set down in a treaty the US was a party to.
Madeleine Albright, the secretary of state at the time, actually intervened in Faulder's Texas appeal and personally made the case to Bush for a reprieve, based on his violated treaty rights. This was the first time such a thing had ever happened. Bush refused, and Faulder was executed 5 months before the presidential election.
This is not about Faulder's guilt (though a better lawyer may have got him a life sentence due to his diminished mental capacity), but about human rights that the US, ironically expects other countries to live up to when Americans are accused of crimes abroad.
By arguing for the rights of a Mexican in the US courts, Bush admits he trashed a US international treaty while he was governor.
navyswan @ 66:
Nope, but I think the whole point of this posting was the blatant hypocrisy. Go ahead and take him off death row, I am against the death penalty. But everyone is incredulous that for all the people that he goes to aid, it's this son of a bitch. You yell at people for supposedly ignoring international law but ignore Bush's blatant disregard except for when it benefits him.
did a little searching. the punishment was handed down in 1994. guess who was just elected governor of texas?
navyman, you would have an arguement except for one minor detail- medellin was put on death row during the very start of bush's term. if he thought that it was improper to execute him because of this international treaty he would have either commuted his sentance or contacted the mexican government at the very beginning instead of 13 years later.
this decision is all about staying in favor with the mexican government and catering to the illegal aliens that bush does nothing about trying to stop crossing the border. had he have been anything but mexican nobody would have heard anything about this case other than reading about how this horrible waste of humanity was executed after murdering and raping two girls.
i like death penalty cases to meet extremely narrow criteria, but in this case, i'd make an exception.
don't think i was clear in the above comment.
navyswan (sorry bout that), people aren't upset that he's following it now, but that he's following it now after blatantly disreguarding the geneva conventions for 6 years AND ignoring the law when he could have done something about it then AND putting to death the most people under any governorship in american history. yes the proper thing was to delay the execution. hell, don't even sentance him until the mexican government was notified and they responded. but the thing is, he's being inconsistant again. and considering the case that he decides to intervene in people have a pretty good reason to be this upset.
That doesn't really make any sense, anyway. Why would the Mexican government defend a Mexican who committed a crime? I mean, if it was to take a stand against the Death Penalty I would understand but that's out of character for both the USA and UMS.
Bushie never does the right thing unless it's for the wrong reason. He also does a lot of wrong things for the wrong reason.
Methinks he's trying to mend fences with Fox, who recently called Bushie the most arrogant man he'd ever met.
this will be very interesting for Bush's supreme court. If Bush is going to argue that we should uphold the Vienna Convention in this case, how can he then turn around and say that he will not uphold the Vienna Convention when it comes to state laws????? I guess the hacks on the court will just say "let Bush do whatever he wants, he's the god damned president!!! Next case."
What's with George and the Mexicans anyway? Not that I have anything against Mexicans, I just don't get it. Of all the people in the world they seem to be Bush's chosen people.
George is trying to stop an execution?! Stop the presses!
What? Does George want to torture him first?
NarcoTx @ 11:
What's the Medellin cartel?
What’s with George and the Mexicans anyway? Not that I have anything against Mexicans, I just don’t get it. Of all the people in the world they seem to be Bush’s chosen people.
Please! Everyone knows that "Bush's chosen people" are the 1% that own 95% of the wealth in this country.
The big question is" How does Bush's motivation improve the lives of the 1%. Whom are the true patrons of the Bush Administration.
BaScOmBe @ 39:
There's nothing racist about opposing illegal entry--it's not "immigration" and it's ILLEGAL. Illegal entry serves to support the tyrants in both the U. S. and Mexico who don't want to impletment rational, equable economic systems. It gives American corps slave labor and gives Mexico a way to get rid of the poor people they don't want to take care of.
Mexicans who break our immigration law are just like George W. Bush. He breaks whatever laws stand in the way of his profits, Mexicans do likewise. You can't condemn Bush and excuse other people who are also breaking our law.
Radically Moderate @ 79:
Bush favors Mexicans because he's related to the Mexican elite--Vincente Fox. He's made deals with the elitist Mexicans that benefit elitist corporate Americans. Not hard to figure out.
Also, KKKarl's "immigration reform" consisted of opening the Mexican border and letting millions of Mexicans come in here illegally because in TX Bush managed to win the hispanic vote. Rove figured if he got enough Mexicans in the U. S. and then granted them citizenship they would all vote Republican. It's part of his strategy to establish Republican ascendancy indefinitely.
Liberals need to stop supporting illegal entry because it's all about destroying democracy in the U. S.
kaT @ 81:
I don't think we are in disagreement with the exception that I do not blame Liberals for assisting in Bush policy.
It's really quite simple. Bush wants to do Felipe Calderon a favor. They are on the same team.
remember karla faye tucker, who pleaded for gov. fratboy's mercy before he executed her. he ridiculed her for it -
from wikipedia -
Bush signed her death warrant. In 1999, during the 2000 Republican Presidential primary race, conservative commentator Tucker Carlson interviewed Bush for Talk Magazine (September 1999, p. 106). Excerpt from this interview is quoted below:
In the weeks before the execution, Bush says, a number of protesters came to Austin to demand clemency for Karla Faye Tucker. "Did you meet with any of them?" I ask. Bush whips around and stares at me. "No, I didn't meet with any of them", he snaps, as though I've just asked the dumbest, most offensive question ever posed. "I didn't meet with Larry King either when he came down for it. I watched his interview with Tucker, though. He asked her real difficult questions like, 'What would you say to Governor Bush?'" "What was her answer?" I wonder. "'Please,'" Bush whimpers, his lips pursed in mock desperation, "'don't kill me.'" I must look shocked -- ridiculing the pleas of a condemned prisoner who has since been executed seems odd and cruel -- because he immediately stops smirking.
*************
there is blood on his hands and death follows him.
p.s. predictably, all copies of the actual talk magazine article seem to have been expunged from the net
This is not Bush pandering to the Hispanic vote -- most Hispanics would be pleased to have murderers of women strung up between four horses and pulled apart, preferably in a plaza de toros.
I think Bush is doing this to create rightwing anger against the ICJ, in the typical way he has done several other contradictory things (like approving the Mexican trucks). Forcing the rightwing state of Texas to follow a law is a way to enflame rightwing anger at the ICJ law.
Blue Buddha @ 38:
Thanks for pointing that out, you rock. :D
kaT @ 80:
I'm sorry, but risking your life crossing a desert on foot so you can find work for $3.50 an hour to feed your family is by no means similar to starting illegitimate wars that kill hundreds of thousands so your billionaire friends can get richer. But then again that's just me.
He needs somewhere to hide from the war crimes trials. Most dictators choose Argentina, Bush went with Mexico.
I don't see a problem here. I may not understand Bush's ulterior motives on this one, but I do support the USA enforcing ICC regs and Geneva Conventions. Its just that liberal in me kicking in.
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