U.S. versus Texas in Death Penalty

U.S. versus Texas in Death Penalty Case was the headline used in the papers to talk about a horrific incident that took place in Houston. A man named Jose Medellin confessed to a crime committed in June of 1993, where he and five other gang members were drinking, brawling, swaggering, talking smack and hanging out by the railroad tracks near a Houston apartment complex. Two girls named Jennifer Ertman who was 14, and Elizabeth Pena who was 16 at the time, were taking a shortcut across the railroad tracks trying to make their way home when they came across Jose Medellin and his friends. Medellin stopped Elizabeth Pena, when she ran he caught up to her and threw her to the ground. Jennifer Ertman tried to help her friend when she was thrown to the ground as well. The two girls were rapped and eventually their bodies were taken to the near by woods where they were strangled to death, one by her shoelace and the other by her belt. Their bodies were found four days later.

Jose Medellin was found guilty, a crime punishable by execution in the state of Texas. 13 years later, Jose is still on death row. The only thing standing in the way is the United States. Jose Medellin was a citizen of Mexico when the crime took place. The government of Mexico forced the U.S. stance. After Medellin was convicted, Mexico brought suit in the International Court of Justice, the judicial body of the United Nations, charging that the U.S. had violated the Vienna Convention. That treaty requires that foreign nationals arrested in a signatory country be allowed to meet with a consular official from their home country. Mexico looks down upon capitol punishment, and that’s why Mexico shows so much interest in this case. Texas is fighting the U.S. stating that Medellin might not have been informed of his rights but he never argued that in the court rooms. The United States government believes that the relationship between Mexico and the U.S. will be tarnished if they didn’t put a stop to the execution of Jose Medellin. My personal feelings are that the man committed a crime on U.S. territory that is worthy of the death penalty according to a jury in Texas and there shouldn’t be any question whether he should be executed. The same should be said for any Americans who commit a crime in another country. People should know the laws of the country they are in and abide by their laws. I believe that since he was an illegal immigrant and in the United States he was lucky to of even been represented by an attorney from the United States. I also don’t believe that the federal government should be going against the state of Texas on this issue. If an American goes to another country such Mexico, and commits a crime, who knows if that person will ever be heard from again depending on the severity of the crime.
The case is being looked at right now; hopefully the federal government will realize that the inhumane actions of Jose Medellin justify him earning the death penalty and go forward with the process.

Proposal to ban panhandling

Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson, a couple of self-described "affluent beggars" from Ashland, Oregon estimate they can make an average of $30- $40,000 per year from panhandling. The two also stated that they can make a high of $300 per day and declared they once made an astonishing $800 in one day. These two self-proclaimed beggars are perfect examples of why panhandling should be banned in the city of Austin. It’s a safe bet state taxes aren’t being paid by these people who stand on a corner of a street and ask for money, making more than the hard working citizens that went to college, working 40 hour work weeks. Also panhandling is quite possibly linked to the higher collision rates at major intersections.

The Austin City Council was presented with the information on panhandling and the effects that it has on traffic conditions and how panhandlers tend to have extensive criminal histories. The city council is split when it comes to their feelings on this issue of banning panhandling in Austin. Council Members Mike Martinez, Lee Leffingwell and Sheryl Cole were amongst the few that disagreed with the proposal. Martinez said it would be wrong to assume that panhandlers caused the wrecks, especially because the list of intersections includes some of Austin's most congested intersections. Martinez is somewhat right when he said that you can not claim that everyone who ask for money has a criminal history.However, How many drivers pass through an intersection and read the signs or stare at the flamboyant costumes worn by panhandlers? Leslie Cochran is a perfect example of this. My opinion is that panhandling and illegal immigration are not only problems for Texas, but for the United States as well. Many people say that by stopping illegal immigration, you won’t have anyone do these jobs the immigrants do because its manual labor and it doesn’t pay well. I think the simple solution for both issues is to tie them into each other by stopping the illegal immigration and give the jobs to these panhandlers if they are really willing to work for money. That will also take care of the panhandlers such as Jason Pancoast and Elizabeth Johnson who don’t pay their state taxes like every other U.S. citizen. This proposal also deals with the issue of people standing on the corners of streets trying to raise money for an actual cause, such as the fire fighters with Fill the Boot. To say that fire fighters who contribute their time to raise money for a great cause such as MDA,relate to people who beg for money only to go to the nearest liquor store or drug dealer to satisfy their needs, is outlandish! The big concern from the citizens was that they had no clue who these people were that were coming up to there windows. I'm almost positive that there concerns were not with the people who were dressed in full uniform and representing the local fire department. My issue with this proposal is that it should not ban the people who seek to improve the lives of hundreds of others, but rather the people who seek to only better themselves.

http://www.statesman.com/news/content/news/stories/local/09/28/0928panhandle.html?COXnetJSessionIDbuild55_prod=rwf8G9LCC3xJTHm7ZcXYMLh1LM0V1YjTFxBrWqGGsZhkjnJwKnvC!-550142581&UrAuth=%60NXNUOaN%5CUbTTUWUXUVUZTZU%60UWUbUcUZU%60U%5CUcTYWYWZV&urcm=y