Texas executes Mexican killer amid international protests

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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

Associated Press