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.