I first wrote about the Jose Ernesto Medellin back in on March 29th, 2005.

Medellin (who — feign surprise — is in our country illegally) is one of the six subhuman pieces of shit who raped, beat, and then strangled to death two Texas teenagers (Jennifer Ertman, 14, and Elizabeth Pena,16) back in 1993.

On July 10, 2006 the first of these animals, Sean Derrick O’Brien, was put to death for his role in these gruesome murders.

However, on March 1, 2005, the Supreme Court of the United States ruled that the Constitution forbids the execution of killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. Two of those killers from that night — Efrain Perez and Raul Villarreal — were spared because of that decision.

President Bush wanted to enforce a decision by the International Court of Justice that found the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexican-born prisoners violated their rights to legal help as outlined in the 1963 Vienna Convention.

Texas argued strenuously that neither the international court nor President Bush, his Texas ties notwithstanding, has any say in Medellin’s case.

Well, thankfully, today, the SCOTUS decided with Texas (h/t Michelle Malkin):

President Bush overstepped his authority when he ordered a Texas court to grant a new hearing to a Mexican on death row for rape and murder, the Supreme Court said Tuesday.

In a case that mixes presidential power, international relations and the death penalty, the court sided with Texas 6-3.

Bush was in the unusual position of siding with death row prisoner Jose Ernesto Medellin, a Mexican citizen whom police prevented from consulting with Mexican diplomats, as provided by international treaty.

An international court ruled in 2004 that the convictions of Medellin and 50 other Mexicans on death row around the United States violated the 1963 Vienna Convention, which provides that people arrested abroad should have access to their home country’s consular officials. The International Court of Justice, also known as the world court, said the Mexican prisoners should have new court hearings to determine whether the violation affected their cases.

Bush, who oversaw 152 executions as Texas governor, disagreed with the decision. But he said it must be carried out by state courts because the United States had agreed to abide by the world court’s rulings in such cases. The administration argued that the president’s declaration is reason enough for Texas to grant Medellin a new hearing.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the majority, disagreed. Roberts said the international court decision cannot be forced upon the states.

The president may not “establish binding rules of decision that pre-empt contrary state law,” Roberts said.

This is outstanding news.

But Liberals have to be pretty conflicted by this verdict — on one hand, SCOTUS just reigned in the self-claimed powers of President Bush. On the other hand, it opens the doors to a much more immediate execution for Medellin.

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PREVIOUSLY —

• Jose Medellin: Rapist and Murderer (March 29th, 2005)
• A Death Row Inmate of Good Character
• President Bush: Kowtowing to International Law in Texas Death Row Case
• Promoting Democracy at Home

Posted by Robbie Cooper on Tuesday, March 25th, 2008 | Trackback |