The International Court of Justice on Wednesday ordered American courts to review death sentences imposed on 51 Mexicans in the United States, saying their rights under international law had been violated. The decision, by the United Nations' highest court, was seen as a moral victory in Mexico and as a stinging rebuke to the United States.
In a firm ruling read out before the judges in the stately hall of the Peace Palace in The Hague, the court said the prisoners' rights to speak with Mexican consular officials after their arrests had been repeatedly violated. It ordered the United States to undertake "an effective review" of the convictions and the sentences. The next Mexican to be executed in the United States is scheduled to die May 18 in Oklahoma. President Vicente Fox of Mexico called the decision "a victory for international rights, for human rights." Arturo Dager, a senior legal adviser to the Mexican Foreign Ministry, said Mexico "totally trusts that the United States will do the right thing and the necessary thing to fulfill this decision."
It is unclear whether American courts will heed the ruling, and federal officials reacted cautiously, saying they needed time to study the list of decisions. "It's a very complex ruling," said Adam Ereli, a State Department spokesman. "We'll decide, based on studying it, how we can go about implementing it."
Frankly, I should think that it was crystal clear that American courts will not heed the ruling, and that the US government has no intention of trying to implement it. The reaction of Governor Goodhair (as Molly Ivins calls Texas governor Perry), below, is likely to be fairly typical.
[...] Gov. Rick Perry, who succeeded President Bush in Texas, has said that "the International Court of Justice does not have jurisdiction in Texas."
[...] "This is great news; it means my client's case will now be looked at again," said David Sergi, a lawyer from San Marcos, Tex., who was present in The Hague and represents Roberto Moreno Ramos, a Mexican awaiting execution in Texas.
Um ... no. Sorry. Your client is a dead man. Texas in particular is unlikely to pay the slightest attention to an international court decision. (See Gov. Goodhair's comment, above.) California ... might. New York ... might. It's a virtual certainty that nobody else will.
Posted by iain at April 01, 2004 03:06 PM
