Supreme Court Permits Execution of Killer in International Law Dispute
A convicted killer whose appeal over treaty obligations sparked several international law rulings has been put to death.
Jose Medellin was executed after the U.S. Supreme Court said in a 5-4 opinion that it would not impose a stay, the Houston Chronicle reports. He had been convicted in the strangulation and gang rape of two teenage girls.
Medellin, a Mexican national, had argued that he was not permitted to consult with Mexican consular officials in violation of U.S. treaty obligations. The International Court of Justice had issued two rulings requiring further review of the case, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in March that state courts could not be forced to carry out the international ruling, even though President Bush had asked Texas courts to comply with it.
Medellin’s execution was delayed about four hours yesterday while the U.S. Supreme Court considered his claims, the Associated Press reports. The Supreme Court per curiam opinion (PDF posted by SCOTUSblog) said the possibility that Texas or federal lawmakers would act to remedy the treaty violation was too remote to justify delaying the execution, SCOTUSblog reports.
The majority said Congress had the authority to make the Vienna Convention binding on the United States and it had not yet acted, according to the SCOTUSblog report. The justices also noted that the U.S. Justice Department was not seeking intervention at this stage of the case.
Dissenters argued that the execution should be delayed while the U.S. solicitor general is invited to present his views. Each dissenter issued separate opinions.
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