An op-ed by Texas state Senator Rodney Ellis and law pro­fes­sor Craig Jackson argues that Gov. Rick Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons should fol­low the International Court of Justice’s order to stay the exe­cu­tions of Mexican cit­i­zens in Texas. They believe the World Court’s deci­sion was the ​“right thing to do” and Gov. Perry ​“would do well to con­sid­er how defi­ance of the World Court rul­ing will affect the safe­ty of Americans abroad who rely on the same treaty pro­tec­tions that Texas vio­lat­ed in these cas­es.” The World Court held that the U.S. was in vio­la­tion of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, which states that law enforce­ment offi­cials should ensure that arrests of for­eign­ers be quick­ly report­ed to their nations’ con­sulates. The rea­son the U.S. entered into that treaty was to ensure that American cit­i­zens would have access to American con­sular offi­cials if arrested abroad. 

“American offi­cials can pro­vide a num­ber of ser­vices for Americans in trou­ble to assure prop­er and fair treat­ment. And on count­less occa­sions, U.S. con­sular offi­cials have inter­ced­ed with for­eign author­i­ties to pro­tect the rights of wrong­ly detained Americans. But in order to secure this access for Americans trav­el­ing abroad, the United States had to ensure that it would pro­vide access for for­eign­ers in the United States. This is what it did in rat­i­fy­ing the treaty,” states the op-ed. Citing con­cern for every American mis­sion­ary, teacher, or tourist in Central or East Asia, Africa, the Middle East, and else­where, the authors argue, ​“Given the issues at stake for all Americans, it is only right that Congress and the Texas Legislature be giv­en the oppor­tu­ni­ty to ensure our nation lives up to the promis­es it made to its treaty part­ners.”
(R. Ellis, C. Jackson, ​“Perry has chance to show anoth­er side of Texas jus­tice, Governor should hon­or US com­mit­ment to treaty terms,” Houston Chronicle, July 22, 2008). See International and Foreign Nationals.

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