U.S. Fails to Honor Treaty - Executes Mexican

The United States of America is a party to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. The treaty requires our states to inform foreign nationals who are arrested or detained that they have a right to have their consulates notified of their arrest.

Mexico sued the United States before the International Court of Justice in the Case Concerning Avena and Other Mexican Nationals. The Court ruled in favor of Mexico and found that Mexican nationals named in the case had a right to review of their state court convictions.

To his credit, President Bush ordered the states to give effect to the decision by the ICJ as it relates to the 51 Mexican nationals named in the suit.

In a very poor decision by the U.S. Supreme Court, Chief Justice Roberts held that even though the Avena judgment was an international law obligation of the part of the U.S., it was not directly enforceable as domestic law. Thus the Court held that the decision or President Bush's order preempted the State of Texas law regarding filing of successive petitions for habeas corpus.
This decision resulted in Texas executing a Mexican national, despite the violation of international law in his arrest.

Of course, by rushing to execute this person, the State of Texas permanently deprived him of any further due process consideration.

With a continuing "lynch-mob" mentality, the State of Texas continues to demonstrate a low value for due process of law.