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Medellin Has Already Received the Review Required by Avena

By Kent Scheidegger et al.

"The Bush administration, the Mexican government and much of the diplomatic community have warned of an international backlash if the execution goes forward without a hearing on Medellin’s claim that he was denied an opportunity to contact the Mexican consulate after his arrest," reports Dave Montgomery for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. This is fairly typical of the coverage. But all the International Court of Justice's Avena decision requires is a judicial determination of whether there was prejudice from the failure of the police to inform the defendant of his right to have the consulate notified. Missing from the article is the fact that Medellin has already had such a determination, made after the consulate had notice and provided assistance, many years ago...continue to full post

Full post as published by Crime and Consequences on August 05, 2008 (boomark / email).