Death Penalty Puts Texas at Odds with Mexican Government, Human Rights Groups The Latino Post
go to original January 13, 2014

The impending execution in Texas of a Mexican citizen has civil rights organizations up in arms, as well as a renewed call from Mexico for better legal services and access to diplomatic rights for their citizens who are detained in the United States, and Texas in particular.

Edgar Arias Tamayo, 46, is scheduled to be executed on Jan. 22 as a result of a conviction for the murder of a Houston police officer in 1994. However, as has been noted by many judicial watches, Tamayo was not notified of his right to access Mexican consular services when he was arrested, and the Mexican authorities were not aware of his arrest and detention until one week before his trial.
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His case is one of more than 50 which was brought to the attention of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in The Hague. Mexico sought the courts assistance on behalf of Mexican citizens jailed in the U.S. who had not been afforded their rights under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 24 April 1963.

The court found in Mexico's favor on six points, noted the U.S. agreement and participation in the convention and ordered the U.S. "shall provide, by means of its own choosing, review and reconsideration of the conviction and sentence, so as to allow full weight to be given to the violation of the rights set forth in the Convention, taking account of paragraphs 138 to 141 of this Judgment."

According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Mexico, that review is still pending, and Foreign Secretary José Antonio Meade has requested a stay of execution on that basis.

Read the rest at The Latino Post

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