21/07/01 

Mexican Killer Is Refused Clemency by Oklahoma 

By RAYMOND BONNER Acting in a case that was being closely watched by foreign governments and death penalty lawyers around the country, Gov.

Frank Keating of Oklahoma yesterday turned down a request for clemency from a Mexican citizen who at the time of his arrest was not advised of his right under an international treaty to contact his embassy.

In a letter to President Vicente Fox of Mexico, who had personally appealed for the sentence to be commuted, Mr. Keating acknowledged that the failure of Oklahoma officials to advise the inmate, Gerardo Valdez, of his right to contact Mexican diplomats was a "clear violation" of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Rights, which the United States has ratified.

  "While regretful and inexcusable," Governor Keating wrote, this violation "does not in and of itself establish clearly discernible prejudice or that a different conclusion would have been reached at trial or on appeal of Mr. Valdez's conviction or sentence."   The Mexican government said last night that it "deeply regrets the decision, which is contrary to international law and the elemental principles of cooperation between nations." It added, "We consider it is an obligation of the government of the United States to assure that states comply with the Vienna Convention."   Mr. Valdez was convicted in 1989 of the murder of a man who had made homosexual advances to him in a bar, according to the record in the case. The Mexican government did not learn about his conviction until last April. When it did, it hired lawyers and psychologists who developed evidence about brain damage to Mr.

Valdez that had not been presented to the jury.

  Governor Keating's decision caught the Mexican government and death penalty lawyers by surprise. The action came even though the Oklahoma pardons board had voted to recommend that the governor commute Mr. Valdez's sentence to life in prison. It was only the second time in 30 years that the Oklahoma board had voted for clemency in a capital case, and one of those voting for clemency was a former prosecutor who strongly supports the death penalty.

  If Governor Keating had granted clemency to Mr. Valdez, there would have been pressure on other governors to follow suit, death penalty lawyers said.

  Currently, 97 foreign citizens are on death rows in 17 states, according to Mark Warren, a human rights researcher in Canada who is considered a leading authority on the subject. With 26, California has the most, followed by Texas, with 24. The inmates are from 34 countries, including Britain and France, but nearly half are Mexican, according to Mr. Warren.

  In reaching his decision, Governor Keating told President Fox that he and his staff had consulted with the State and Justice Departments.

  The State Department said yesterday that it had asked Governor Keating "to give careful consideration to the representations of the government of Mexico in the clemency process" and "to consider whether the failure of consular notification prejudiced the conviction or sentence."   The Mexican government was disappointed that the State Department had not acted more forcefully. Mexican officials and Mr. Valdez's lawyers said that in the case of a Canadian citizen facing execution in Texas two years ago, Secretary of State Madeleine K.

Albright had sent a long letter that left no doubt that she wanted the authorities to grant clemency. In spite of the effort, the Canadian, Stanley Faulder, was executed.

  In the last eight years, 15 foreign citizens have been executed by seven states, according to Mr. Warren's list. None were advised of their consular rights.

  Several foreign governments have in the past made formal protests to the United States over the failure to comply with the Vienna Convention. It is a right that the United States vigorously asserts on behalf of American citizens arrested abroad.

  There is no dispute about Mr. Valdez's guilt. But his lawyers strongly took issue with numerous points in Mr. Keating's letter to Mr. Fox.

  Mr. Keating said that Mr. Valdez had been well represented by an experienced lawyer, and twice Mr. Keating said that the lawyer spoke Spanish.

  Sandra Babcock, who represents the Mexican government in this case, said that Mr. Valdez's lawyer, while good, had never tried a case in which the death penalty was possible.

  "It would have been better if they had appointed somebody who had tried a capital case," Ms. Babcock said, "rather than someone merely because he spoke Spanish.".

  Ms. Babcock, a death penalty lawyer from Minneapolis, added that the Mexican government considered this "the most egregious case of a Vienna Convention violation because of the length of time without any consular assistance whatsoever, and because no one, either at trial or on appeal, ever bothered to conduct even the most rudimentary investigation into his background."   After the Mexican government learned of Mr. Valdez's case two months before his scheduled execution, it hired Ms. Babcock and Spanish-speaking investigators and neuropsychologists. An investigator went to Mexico and learned that as a child Mr. Valdez had fallen from a tree, suffering damage to his head, and that as an adult he had been in two or three car accidents.

  The neuropsychologist examined Mr. Valdez for two days and gave him extensive brain tests. He concluded that Mr. Valdez suffered from severe brain damage.

  None of this was known by Mr. Valdez's trial lawyers, so it was not presented to the jury. It could have helped Mr. Valdez in his insanity defense. And after he was convicted, it would have been powerful evidence to present to the jury in arguing that Mr. Valdez should not be executed, Ms. Babcock said.

Gobernador niega pedido de clemencia a mexicano en pena capital Europa Press

OKLAHOMA CITY _ El gobernador Frank Keating neg� un pedido de clemencia para el ciudadano mexicano Gerardo Valdez, condenado a la pena de muerte por homicidio. La decisi�n de Keating el viernes ratific� la ejecuci�n pese a una solicitud personal del presidente de M�xico Vicente Fox. El gobernador dijo que el procurador general Drew Edmondson puede ahora solicitar una nueva fecha de ejecuci�n para Valdez, que fue condenado por matar a golpes y a balazos a Juan Barr�n en 1989. Edmondson pedir� a la Corte de Apelaciones en lo Criminal de Oklahoma que disponga la ejecuci�n para el 21 de agosto. Por su parte, la Secretar�a de Relaciones Exteriores de M�xico se�al� el viernes en un comunicado que ``lamenta profundamente que el gobernador de Oklahoma decidiera negar la conmutaci�n de la pena capital por cadena perpetua, en perjuicio del mexicano Gerardo Valdez''. ``Esta decisi�n, contraria al derecho internacional y a los m�s elementales principios de convivencia y cooperaci�n entre las naciones, ignora que la Junta de Perdones y Libertad Condicional de Oklahoma hab�a recomendado clemencia en favor del mexicano, en un hecho sin precedentes para un sentenciado extranjero'', agrega el comunicado. Ante la decisi�n, la canciller�a mexicana ``interpondr� tanto las acciones legales disponibles en el �mbito interno de Estados Unidos como aquellos recursos internacionales que el estado mexicano decida hacer valer con base en el derecho internacional para preservar la vida'' de Valdez y obtener la conmutaci�n de su pena a cadena perpetua. Keating hab�a aplazado la ejecuci�n el 19 de junio con el prop�sito de estudiar si las autoridades de Oklahoma violaron las leyes internacionales al no permitir que Valdez se pusiera en contacto con las autoridades consulares mexicanas despu�s de su arresto en 1989 por la muerte de Juan Barr�n. Fox y otros funcionarios mexicanos han alegado que la Convenci�n de Viena sobre relaciones consulares requiere que los extranjeros detenidos deben tener acceso al consulado de su pa�s. Asimismo alegaron que el gobierno mexicano deber�a haber tenido la oportunidad de representar a Valdez en el juicio, arguyendo que ese factor hubiera impedido que fuera condenado a la pena de muerte. Keating dijo en carta a Fox el viernes que Valdez tuvo un abogado conocedor del espa�ol y experimentado en casos de asesinato. ``Es importante notar que en ning�n momento durante el juicio o en procesos posteriores el se�or Valdez aleg� que no hab�a asesinado a Juan Barr�n'', escribi� Keating....

OKLAHOMA:The brother of a man who was shot, stabbed and burned by a Mexican national says officials have not sought input from the family about efforts to stop the inmate's execution. "The governor is a busy person," said Sammy Barron, whose brother Juan Barron was killed by Gerardo Valdez in 1989. "He is taking the time to talk with their (Valdez's) attorneys and the attorney general and to listen to the (Mexican) president. "Well, that is fine and dandy. None of those people are the ones going through what we are going through. My family, we are the ones getting neglected. We are not getting our input heard," Barron told the Tulsa World. Gov. Frank Keating issued a 30-day stay of Valdez's June 19 execution to consider whether to grant a commutation to life without the possibility of parole. Clemency supporters argue that Valdez was not told when arrested that he had the right to seek assistance from the Mexican consulate as guaranteed by the Vienna Convention. Keating delayed Valdez's execution after speaking with Mexican President Vicente Fox. He has also spoken with Mexican officials and Oklahoma Attorney General Drew Edmondson. Sammy Barron said he has spoken with a representative from Keating's office but not the governor. Judy Terry, the governor's chief legal counsel on the case, has talked with Barron on more than one occasion, said Phil Bacharach, a Keating spokesman. Because Barron has spoken to Terry, it would not be necessary at this point for him to meet with Keating, Bacharach said. "The governor has spoken to everyone who can provide input on the legal issue and the impact of the Vienna Convention," Bacharach said. Sammy Barron said he wants Keating to know he is hurt, confused and feels somewhat abandoned. "He is listening to the President of Mexico versus his own people here," Sammy Barron said. "We should be the 1st and main concern." "I don't want my brother's life to get thrown into some kind of political circus," Sammy Barron said. "I want for the person that murdered him to pay for what he has done." Records show that in 1989, Valdez took Barron home from an Anadarko bar. He explained to Barron why he thought homosexuality was wrong based on the Bible's teachings. Valdez then beat Barron, made him strip, shot him twice in the head and stabbed him in the neck. He burned Barron's body in the back yard. "The murder of Juan Barron was one of the most heinous we have heard of," Bacharach said. "The issue for the governor is not necessarily the matter of the severity of it." Bacharach said the issue is whether the violation of the Vienna Convention would have affected Valdez's sentencing. Keating is expected to announce his decision next week. Gerardo Valdez: Victim's family wants input into his sentence.