17/08

An international treaty, signed and ratified by the United States, guarantees everyone arrested by a foreign government the right to seek help from the consular post of his own country. Yet Javier Su�rez Medina, a Mexican national who killed an undercover policeman during a drug deal in 1988, was never told of this right -- even though, Mexican officials say, he was carrying a green card. The officials say Mexico's consular office was repeatedly told that Mr. Su�rez was not Mexican.

 On Wednesday, Texas executed Mr. Su�rez despite numerous international protests. Vicente Fox, the Mexican president, canceled a trip to Texas later this month. For American citizens, the consequences could come when Washington seeks to help Americans arrested overseas.

 Mexico argues that if the consulate had been allowed to help Mr. Su�rez, he would have had a better lawyer, which might have won him life in prison instead of the death penalty. ...

 Washington's dismissal of Mr. Fox has damaged the standing of the most pro-American Mexican president ever and left many Mexicans wondering whether their country is getting enough in return for their president's support of Washington.

 Americans get arrested by foreign governments all the time on charges of murder, theft, drug offenses and other ordinary crimes, often in nations where the justice system falls quite a bit short of perfection. To protect their rights, they need help from the American consulate. By executing foreign nationals denied access to consular services, the administration is handing other countries a justification to deny access to Americans. 

One unexpected casualty of the Sept. 11 attacks has been U.S.-Mexican relations.

 A year ago, President Bush and President Vicente Fox were best buddies, and the 2 countries were committed to finding better ways to manage the issues of immigration and imported labor. Now the Bush administration is focused on other issues, and the impetus toward more open borders is ancient history. Many Mexicans feel that issues important to them are being neglected.

 Into this thorny situation has now stepped the busy Texas executioner. With Mr. Fox scheduled to visit the state this week, with a stop at Mr. Bush's Crawford ranch, Texas rubbed salt in the wound by executing a Mexican, Javier Suarez Medina. Mexico has no death penalty, and Mr. Fox appealed for clemency; Texas Gov. Rick Perry spurned his appeals, and the State Department declined to intervene. So Mr. Fox canceled the trip, as he put it, "in contempt of the execution."

 But nothing comes between the Lone Star State and its needle. And President Bush, a loyal son of Texas, has never shown anything but enthusiasm for his home state's addiction. So while a normal state might have forgone the execution out of deference to the sensibilities of its guest and his constituency -- as Missouri did during the visit of Pope John Paul II, for example -- Texas moved ahead. Even supporters of the death penalty ought to wonder why killing Mr. Suarez is worth further irritating already complicated relations with the country on our southern border.

 Compiled by United Press International

Op-Ed -  Houston Chronicle

Atwood, a Houstonian, is a member of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty

Time we turn Texas into a truly civilized state The execution on Wednesday of Javiar Suarez Medina, a citizen of Mexico, shows that the state of Texas cares little for international law. 

Already, this violation has had international repercussions: Mexican President Vincente Fox has canceled his trip to Texas and his meeting with President Bush that were scheduled later this month. Texas authorities did not advise Suarez of his right to contact his country's consulate when he was arrested, thus depriving him of the expert legal counsel that his government could provide. 

This is in violation of of Article 36 of the Vienna Convention, which the United States has signed. This is not the 1st time, nor I suspect the last time, that Texas will ignore international law. Already, Texas has executed a number of foreign nationals whose rights under the Vienna Convention were violated. 

The state also has executed juvenile offenders (offenders who committed their crime before the age of 18) in violation of international law. Texas should stop executing foreign nationals if it wants to be seen as a civilized state. 

But it should go further. It should also stop executing its own citizens. It should rise above an eye-for-an-eye mentality and demonstrate that killing is not the answer to killing. This is not an easy thing to accomplish for people who have lost a loved one to murder. 

It is not easy for someone who believes that justice means getting even or settling the score. It is certainly not easy for politicians who believe that they must support the death penalty to get elected. But no one said that becoming a civilized state is easy. It takes time. It takes maturity. 

It takes wisdom. It might be a different story if the death penalty were shown to be necessary for societal protection. However, in this day and age, society can be protected by long-term incarceration of dangerous criminals. Furthermore, all credible studies have shown that capital punishment has no deterrent effect. In fact, a survey of the nation's police chiefs indicated that they believe that capital punishment is the least effective measure to combat violent crime. 

There are many "up sides" to seeking justice by means other than capital punishment. Several studies have shown that life in prison is less expensive than the death penalty. This is because of the huge legal costs involved with capital cases. Secondly, the victim's family knows the outcome of the case early on. They do not have to wait years for someone to be executed and then find out that they did not get the "closure" they had been promised by prosecutors and victims' rights groups. 

Thirdly, by not responding to killing with more killing, the state is setting a moral tone that is positive for all members of society. That is, killing is not justified under any circumstances. 

Life is truly sacred. In its 2003 session, the Texas legislature will have a number of opportunities to improve the criminal justice system of this state. By courageously outlawing capital punishment, the legislators will move Texas down the road toward becoming a truly civilized state.