Texas executes Mexican killer amid international protests

Jose Ernesto Medellin (pictured), a Mexican national convicted of the 1993 rape and murder of two Texas girls, was executed Tuesday night in Texas after the U.S. Supreme Court refused to grant a reprieve, writes Reed Johnson.

"I'm sorry my actions caused you pain. I hope this brings you the closure that you seek," Medellin, 33, told those gathered to watch him die. He was pronounced dead at 9:57 p.m. local time.

Medellin had been scheduled to be executed at 6 p.m., but the sentence was delayed for a few hours while the Supreme Court considered his appeal.

The buildup to Tuesday's execution drew worldwide attention and involved a host of players and institutions beyond the United States and Mexico.

The International Court of Justice in The Hague sided in 2004 with the Mexican government's argument that the United States had violated the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to inform arrested Mexican nationals of their right to seek help from the Mexican Consulate.

Some foreign policy analysts, including former U.S. Ambassador to Mexico Jeffrey Davidow, contend that executing foreign citizens could put U.S. citizens abroad at risk of being convicted and even executed for crimes without having access to U.S. consulates or embassies.

Following Medellin's execution, Mexico's Foreign Relations Department said it sent a note of protest to the State Department about his case, reports the Associated Press.

For more on Medellin's case and execution, click here.

-- Deborah Bonello in Mexico City

Photo credit: Texas Department of Criminal Justice via Associated Press

Comments

[budswisr]

Score one for the good guys. With the love Texas and California shows for illegals I thought sure he would walk out with a full pardon. Oh, well the odds are now 2-1 that next illegal murderer or rapist will.

[Southoc]

Just check LA and Orange Counties most wanted lists. Mexico has a lot to answer for. We are tired of being the dumping ground for their poor and criminals.

[Julia]

I don't get the concern for a few Americans overseas. There are far more illegal Mexicans in the US. What would it do to law enforcement and public safety if a Mexican birth certificate exempted murders from the death penalty? Do we want Mexican gang members to have a free pass on raping and killing without facing the same punishment as America citizens?

I know Mexico doesn't care one bit about Americans, but I find it very disheartening that US elected officials would rather give Mexican nationals rights beyond citizens of this country just to avoid international tensions. I'm just so glad Texas thumbed their nose at the World Court and Mexico.

IMO, Medellin represents all that is wrong with open borders. How many lives have to be taken by illegals before the border is sealed?

[Pendeho]

If you rape, and then kill not one but two people... It should not matter what country you're from, or what citizenship you have... You should be punished (in this situation killed, put to death) for your actions... It's the media that puts all this crap in: "Oooo, he's from Mexico, ooo, the Mexican Minister is mad... Oooo, now the US citizen are at harm abroad, etc..."

We're not talking about citizenship here, we're talking about two innocent girls; raped and killed...

This article seems like it's protecting this dude by writting where he's from and what countries are now pissed off against US actions, more than talking about his wrong doing...

He's dead... get that through your head... DEAD, and he deserved it...

[Concerned Citizen]

If a US citizen was in another country and raped and murdered a child or anyone of any age that US citizen should also pay with their life. This case had nothing to do with where the person was from. It was about his actions and the threat he posed on society worldwide.