Texas Executes Inmate After High Court Steps Aside

[AlphaCentauri]

Source: NYT

WASHINGTON — An Honduran immigrant convicted of murder was put to death in Texas on Thursday evening after the Supreme Court declined to block the execution, despite his lawyers’ complaints that he should have been told that he could get assistance early on from Honduran diplomats.

The court’s ruling came without dissent and without comment.

The immigrant, Heliberto Chi, 29, was executed in Huntsville, Tex., for shooting to death his former boss during a robbery at a men’s store in Arlington in 2001.

Mr. Chi’s execution is the second one this week with diplomatic implications. On Tuesday night, Texas executed José Medellín, a Mexican national, in defiance of an international court ruling and despite pleas from the Bush administration that he be given a new hearing. The Supreme Court declined to block that execution earlier on Tuesday.



Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/us/08texas.html?_r=1&adxnnl=1&ref=us&adxnnlx=1218168849-RmeG+NZ+9ryg5UfbZbD0Fw&oref=slogin

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Why the republicans won't build their secret torture chambers in Texas since Texas is more independant than the Saudi Kingdom

[newfie11]

1. Thank you Texas!

This scum deserved to die. To bad he died a reasonably painless death compared to what he and his scummy friends did to those 2 little girls!

[Ian David]

2. Yes, he deserved to die. But we once again thumbed our noses at international law to do it.

And this was actually a law that WE WROTE.

[Mudoria]

3. US law > International law

[WriteDown]

4. In this case....

U.S. should have been recognized by the international court. Instead they tried to subvert it.


GO HEELS!!

[AlphaCentauri]

7. Gods Law > US law

let's start returning the land acquire by treaties

[WriteDown]

8. Oh, you mean like my tribes land?

Sorry, most of us have gotten over that by now. Wouldn't mind that casino they've been promising us though.

[AlphaCentauri]

9. A casino? ... well, sorry that promise won't take effect because is part of another treaty

[S_B_Jackson]

11. NO, we did not WRITE a law to this effect...

and therein lies the problem. Texas observed all statutory requirements. The defendant received had admitted his guilt to the murder, the murder he admitted to met the codified definition of "special circumstances" by the state of Texas, and he received adequate legal counsel and has clearly been afforded access to the appellate courts.

The problem STILL lies in the fact that CONGRESS has - since 1963 failed to meet it's requirement fully implement into law the terms of the treaty. This has been pointed out by the USSC in their March decision on the issue...and affirmed now in each of the emergency appeals filed prior to the executions of both two executions which Texas carried out this week.

Any complaints that you have concerning this issue should be directed to the leadership of the US Congress - specifically Speaker Pelosi, Majority Leader Reid - and to our respective representatives in both the US House and the US Senate.

I've done so, have you?

[Ian David]

12. Yes, I have. n/t

[Marrah_G]

10. Different case, that one died Tuesday or Wednesday

[jmowreader]

13. You're thinking of Jose Medellin

This scumbag killed the man who fired him.

[JonQ]

5. I think once you take up residence in another

country you lose the right to run crying to your birth-countrys embassy whenever you just happen to rape and murder couple of kids.

It's not like he was vacationing here and happened to screw up, he was living here, illegally granted, but he didn't have ties to Honduras.

Won't be shedding any tears for him.

[AlphaCentauri]

6. like those fellow soldiers raping japanese girls

the implications are obvious, don't expect other countries play the laws over everything else game

[gratuitous]

14. Are Texans safe now?

How many more homicides will Texans have to commit before they finally, at last, feel safe? Or whatever nonsense reason they're proffering now for murdering people? They must have an extraordinarily frightened population concentrated in that state.

[flashl]

15. Probably not ...

According to an FBI Behavioral Unit study 85% of the world's serial killers are in America. At any given time 20 - 50 unidentified active serial killers are at work continually changing their targets and methods.

Serial killers likely to be family men, not freaks, says FBI

A report, by the agency's behavioural analysis unit, says serial killers often have families and homes, are gainfully employed and appear to be normal members of the community.

...

"The more that we can get that information out there to them, hopefully we'll have a higher solution rate in solving these cases and enhancing the public safety," the spokesman said.

And, white collar criminals' actions that result in deaths never show up on the radar. How many times have you heard of a nursing home executive being charged with murder after discovery of deaths from gross negligence scandals in nursing homes?