Death Penalty
Another Foreign National Executed in Texas
Last night, two nights after putting Mexican national Jose Medellin to death, the state of Texas executed Heliberto Chi, a national from Honduras. He was convicted of a killing Armand Paliotta during a robbery in the Dallas area in 2001.
Unlike Mexico in the Jose Medellin case, Honduras did not appeal to the International Court of Justice, or World Court, but the government of Honduras reportedly issued a statement saying, "We lament that in this case, the arrangements established by the Vienna Convention treaty were not followed." Actually, as reported on ScotusBlog, in last minute legal filings with the US Supreme Court, Chi's lawyers argued that Chi's right to consular notification were governed by a bilateral treaty between the US and Honduras that, unlike the Vienna Convention, is "self executing", meaning that it is binding on the US government and the states. This appeal was rejected unanimously and without comment, and Chi was executed.
There are four more scheduled executions in Texas this month.
Brian
DPAC
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