The international furor is not over whether Texas has the right to institute the death penalty. That is something that each country (and in America each state) must decide for themselves. No, the furor is over Texas' refusal to follow international law in trying, condemning, and executing the criminal.
Both the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights say that anytime a foreign national is arrested, the country who arrested that person must notify that person that they have the right to notify the embassy of their own country (giving that country the right to provide any assistance that might be necessary).
Texas did not do that. Humberto Leal Garcia was a citizen of Mexico and Texas officials did not notify the Mexican embassy or inform him that he had the right to notify his embassy. This would have been a simple thing to do, and it would have made the trial that followed his arrest legal according to international law.
Some might wonder why all the fuss is being made over this obviously guilty man. It has nothing to do with his guilt. It is about following the rules that have been laid down for all countries. The United States has agreed to those rules, and it needs to keep its word and follow those rules. The actions of Texas make the United States look like a pariah who flaunts international law while demanding that other countries abide by it.
The president and the Secretary of State had both asked Texas officials to stop the execution (as did many other organizations and countries). It would have been the right thing for Texas officials to commute the sentence (or grant a new trial). Either option would have satisfied international law. The fact that they did neither puts American citizens in danger across the world.
The obvious question now is why should other countries give American citizens the right to notify the American embassy when they are arrested abroad, when the United States doesn't live up to its obligation to do the same thing? State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said, "U.S. compliance with Vienna convention terms is absolutely critical to insuring our own consular access and our own ability to protect Americans detained abroad."
Texas officials were wrong and have endangered all American citizens visiting other countries -- not because they executed a guilty man, but because they did so without following the rules that all civilized countries have agreed to.
NOTE -- Governor Rick Perry did nothing to correct this situation. He is currently considering running for the Republican presidential nomination. I feel compelled to ask the Republicans, do you really want a candidate who flaunts international law and puts American citizens in danger?
In particular, any American in Mexico is now subject to being arrested and held without access to the U.S. embassy or any legal assistance available therein. International "law" isn't really "law" in the sense of a something enforced by penalties, it's more a set of reciprocal agreements on the order of, "if you let my arrested citizens in your country talk to the embassy, I'll let your arrested citizens in my country talk to the embassy." If the U.S. isn't going to live up to its side of the agreement, what motivation does Mexico have to live up to *its* side of the agreement? None. Less than none. Any American who visits Mexico right now has sawdust for brains, because the Mexicans are pissed, and are apt to treat Americans the same way we treat Mexicans -- i.e., like dog dung.
ReplyDelete- Badtux the Reciprocality Penguin