Good bye Jose.
Enjoy your trip to Hell.
Convicted killer from Houston set to die today still has pending appeals
Hernán Rozemberg - Express-News
Hernán Rozemberg - Express-News
Barring a last-minute reprieve, Jose Ernesto Medellin is scheduled this evening to die by lethal injection for the rape and slaying of two teenage girls.
Despite mounting national and international pressure on state officials to grant a stay of execution, prison officials said they expect to transfer the 33-year-old Mexican from his death-row cell to another just steps from Texas' death chamber.
Despite mounting national and international pressure on state officials to grant a stay of execution, prison officials said they expect to transfer the 33-year-old Mexican from his death-row cell to another just steps from Texas' death chamber.
Gov. Rick Perry will announce his final decision today, but for months has resisted the calls from high-ranking U.S. and international officials to grant a reprieve as Medellin's case and those of 50 other Mexicans on death row play out in a diplomatic saga.
In his appeals, Medellin has argued that he was denied Vienna Convention rights of contact with consular officials from his native Mexican government. The International Court of Justice has urged that Medellin and other foreign nationals awaiting execution receive hearings to determine whether their inability to talk with consular officials from their home countries had an adverse effect on their cases.
Earlier this year, the Supreme Court ruled that the treaty agreement cannot trump the Constitution or U.S. courts. Perry,
Texas courts and the attorney general's office all agree that the execution should be carried out.
Last-minute appeals remain pending.
Texas courts and the attorney general's office all agree that the execution should be carried out.
Last-minute appeals remain pending.
On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles denied Medellin's requests to commute his sentence to life in prison or for an eight-month reprieve.
In a prepared statement, Donald Francis Donovan, one of Medellin's attorneys, said he was “deeply disappointed” with the board's action, adding that it went against “the interests of the nation and risks the safety of thousands of Americans traveling and living abroad.
We must now rely on the U.S. Supreme Court to prevent Texas from breaking a commitment made by the President and Senate on behalf of the country as a whole,” Donovan said.
Medellin, a former gang member, was convicted in Houston in 1993 in the gang slayings of teenagers Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, both of whom were raped, stomped and strangled after stumbling upon a gang initiation.
Medellin, a former gang member, was convicted in Houston in 1993 in the gang slayings of teenagers Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman, both of whom were raped, stomped and strangled after stumbling upon a gang initiation.
Derrick O'Brien, convicted with Medellin in the murders, was put to death two years ago. Gang leader Peter Cantu awaits an execution date. Three others were also convicted in the slayings.
