MEXICAN GOVERNMENT PROTESTS PLANNED EXECUTION OF MEXICAN CITIZEN IN TEXAS

The Mexican government has filed a formal complaint with the US State Department over the intention of the state of Texas to execute a Mexican national in less than two weeks.  The government claims that Miguel Angel Flores was denied his due process rights when authorities failed to notify him that he could contact a Mexican consulate for legal assistance.  The right of people in a foreign country to seek assistance from their consulate following an arrest is secured by the Vienna Convention. 

Flores was convicted of rape and murder in 1989.  He had no criminal record and no history of violence.  The attorney who represented him did not speak Spanish, and Flores spoke no English.  The attorney did not present any character witnesses or any mitigating evidence.

The Mexican government has asked that Flores’ sentence be commuted to life in prison, and has asked the State Department to help convince Texas officials to do this.  The State Department says that it has asked Texas to explain the situation.  Texas responded that it was for the courts to decide whether Flores was properly advised of his rights.

There are a growing number of foreign nationals on US death rows, at least 87 currently.  According to the Mexican government, 46 of them are Mexican citizens.  Over the last 30 months, six foreign citizens have been executed.  According to the Death Penalty Information Center, none of them were informed of their right to consular assistance.

Next month the World Court will hear arguments in a suit brought by Germany against the US in which the German government is seeking reparations for the execution of two German citizens last year.  Officials admitted that they were not advised of their rights under the Vienna Convention.  The US has a policy of calling for the strict enforcement of the Vienna Convention when dealing with US citizens abroad.

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