Mexico Seeks Retrial for Citizens on U.S. Death Row

Mexico asked the World Court Monday to order the United States to retry 52 Mexicans on death row because it says they were not told of their right to consular help after being arrested.

The case is the result of a long-running dispute between the United States and its southern neighbor and underlines deep concern among some of Washington's closest allies over its capital punishment laws.

"We are asking the court to tell the United States to retry these nationals, but this time with the consular assistance they are entitled to," said Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo, chief legal representative for Mexico.

"Consular help could have meant the difference between life and death," lawyer Sandra Babcock told the judges as the Mexican side made its opening arguments.

Mexico accuses U.S. authorities of breaching the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations by failing to tell the Mexicans -- subsequently sentenced to death in 10 U.S. states -- of their right to assistance from their national representatives.

Robledo said Mexico was not contesting the legal grounds for the death penalty in the case, which applies to all Mexican death row prisoners with full citizenship.

Mexico went to The Hague-based International Court of Justice or World Court because all other legal and diplomatic efforts to solve the issue had been exhausted, an official said.

U.S. representatives declined to comment ahead of their opening statements Tuesday.

Over the last several years 55 Mexicans, all of whom received consular assistance, avoided the death penalty, Mexico's legal team said.

In February, the World Court ordered the United States to stay executions of 3 Mexicans deemed in imminent danger and reserved the right to intervene in dozens more cases.

According to Amnesty International statistics, a total of 71 prisoners were executed in the United States last year, bringing to 820 the total number of prisoners put to death since the resumption of capital punishment there in 1977.

[my note: the USA has carried out 65 executions thus far this year, bringing the national total to 885; 1 more execution is scheduled in America this year, in Virginia, on Thursday]

The death penalty has not been applied in Mexico for at least 4 decades. Though the military still hands down the sentence, recent presidents have reduced it to long jail terms.

Arizona Republic

Mexico: Vows to halt deaths of 54 jailed in U.S.

Mexican Foreign Secretary Luis Ernesto Derbez said Friday that he is confident Mexico will win an International Court of Justice battle to cancel the executions of 54 Mexican citizens on death row in the United States.

The Mexican government has claimed it is illegal to kill the prisoners because they were refused their right to legal assistance from the Mexican Consulate.

The United States argues that granting Mexico's request to cancel the executions would violate U.S. sovereignty.

"This is a very important case for Mexico, and we will not fail. Not one Mexican who has been denied his consular rights (in the United States) will be executed," Derbez said during a news conference.

The International Court of Justice, the United Nation's highest legal authority, will hear arguments from lawyers representing both countries next week.

The Hague, Netherlands-based body, also known as the World Court, has no power to enforce its decisions. The United States has disregarded them in the past.

In 2001, German citizen Walter LaGrand was executed in Arizona, despite the court's order to postpone his punishment until it had heard Germany's case that he had been denied his right to consular assistance.

Representing the U.S. government in next week's hearings are 16 State Department lawyers headed by William Taft IV, great-grandson of President Taft.

Mexican newspapers have dubbed the U.S. lawyers the "Dream Team" and emphasized they outnumber Mexico's team of 5 attorneys by more than 3-1.

But Derbez said the difference in numbers will not affect the outcome of the case.

"It is not the quantity but the quality of the lawyers that counts," he said. "And we have right on our side."

In February, the world court ruled that the United States must stay the executions of 3 Mexican citizens on death row in Texas and Oklahoma.

Mexicans are also on death row in California, Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Nevada, Ohio and Oregon.