Guide Note

Mexican citizen Jose Medellin was convicted of raping and killing two teen girls in 1993 in the state of Texas.¹ Medellin was sentenced to death and was executed by lethal injection on August 5, 2008.²

Fast Facts

1. Born: March 4, 1975
2. Name: Jose Ernesto Medellin
3. Arrested in June of 1993¹
4. Convicted of the rapes and murders of two teen girls
5. Victims: 16-year-old Elizabeth Pena and 15-year-old Jennifer Ertman
6. Sentenced to death in 1994³
7. Claims he was not informed of his right to contact Mexican consulate officials under the Vienna Convention treaty⁴
8. Mexican government obtained a ruling from ICJ in 2004
9. After ruling, President Bush issued memo that US courts would implement the ICJ ruling
10. The Bush administration argued that the president's executive power outranks state laws⁵
11. Supreme Court over-ruled Bush on March 25, 2008³
12. ICJ ordered the U.S. to halt the executions on July 16, 2008⁶
13. Medellin was executed by lethal injection on August 5, 2008, as scheduled²

Mexico sued the U.S. in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on behalf of Medellin and other Mexican prisoners who have been convicted and sentenced in the U.S. Mexico claims the prisoners were denied of their right to consult Mexican diplomats. The ICJ ordered the U.S. to halt the execution on July 16, 2008.⁷ The ICJ ruled that the Bush's Administration must reconsider the case. In 2005, the White House instructed Texas to reconsider the conviction.⁴

On April 30, 2007, the Supreme Court agreed to review the Medellin Vs. Texas.⁸ On March 25, 2008, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected the arguments of the Bush Administration, and ruled that President Bush can't force Texas to reconsider, even if in violation of the International Court of Justice.¹