Texas May Defy Hague With Execution

The authorities in Texas yesterday considered last-minute appeals for a Mexican citizen whose scheduled execution today has opened up a legal rift between America and the International Court of Justice.

José Medellín is scheduled to be put to death at 6pm local time despite an order from the court at The Hague to halt his execution.

Legal experts and human rights organizations say the execution would be seen as an act of defiance of international law after a ruling from the ICJ that Medellín was denied his right to consult with Mexican embassy officials during his trial.

"US respect for international law might be further damaged by this execution," said Brian Evans of Amnesty International.

Katharine Huffman, a spokeswoman for Medellín's legal team, said the case was being closely monitored by the international community. "The failure on the part of the US could have very serious implications for our relationship with Mexico as well as other nations," she said.

But the governor of Texas, Rick Perry, has repeatedly indicated the execution would go ahead. Texas has the most active death chamber in America.

The [ICJ] has no jurisdiction here in Texas. We're concerned about following Texas law and that's what we're doing," a spokeswoman for Perry said.

Medellín has spent most of his adult life on death row after he was convicted in the 1993 gang rape and murders of two teenage girls.

His hopes now rest on appeals to the Texas board of pardons and the US supreme court. His lawyers have asked the board for a 240-day stay of execution to give Congress time to enact legislation that would spare Medellín.

The board was expected to announce its decision overnight.

A bill now before Congress would compel Texas and other states to comply with international treaties guaranteeing foreign nationals on trial the right to consult with officials from their home countries.

Huffman said Medellín's lawyers remained hopeful that Perry would accept a delay, if that is what the Texas pardons board recommends. "He has indicated that he will go with their recommendation, if they recommend a stay," she said.

Medellín is the first of 51 Mexicans on death row in the US whose cases have become an embarrassment for the Bush administration.

In a 2004 ruling the ICJ ordered the courts to grant a review of their cases, and George Bush earlier this year urged the authorities in Texas to revisit Medellín's case. But the supreme court ruled that the president had overstepped his authority.

Last month the ICJ ordered the US to "take all measures necessary" to block Medellín's execution.

Huffman warned that America could still be in conflict with the court until the cases of the other 50 Mexican nationals on death row are resolved. "Even if he is executed, there are still 50 other individuals whose cases are at issue," she said.