Monday, October 08, 2007

Bush Opposes Death Penalty

...only because it will cause problems with Mexico involving an illegal immigrant? No, it's not just his plutocratic impulses, it gets even stupider. First Jose Ernesto Medillen was convicted of raping and strangling to death two Texas teenager girls in June 1993. He was advised of his rights, wrote a confession, and in October 1994 sentenced to death. What Texas hadn't done was inform him of his right, under 1963 Treaty, to consult with the Mexican consulate. He didn't raise the issue during his trial, when he did the Texas appeal court turned him down. The Internation Court of Justice found that this violated the 1963 Vienna Treaty and ordered the US Court to review, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals turned it down, the Supremes agreed to hear it, while it was pending Bush ordered the Texas courts to enforce the international court's ruling because not to do so would harm US relations abroad.

Texas ruled against Medillen again, saying Bush had overstepped his authority, so in April the Supremes stepped in again and put Texas vs Bush. Take note that Bush presided over 152 executions as Texas governor - no commutations. Two weeks after Bush had ordered Texas to review he withdrew the US from the treaty (terrorism suspects).

Do you get it? Rape and murder don't count, a phony war on terror does. This is one of the most compliant death penalty people in any kind of power and now he stands against Texas. Maybe there is something wrong with the death penalty, I'd say there is; but Bush's hypocrisy is astonishing.

I have no problem with Consulates advising their citizens, but let them pick up the tab and afterward take their citizen back home. If they lose, let them pay the court costs and the costs of incarceration. In every case, DUII or whatever.

I get tired of retailing BushCo garbage, but it just needs to be done. If it doesn't get done well enough, we will repeat this experiment in stupidity. I like that less...

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