Government officials from the United States and Mexico are warning Texas Gov. Rick Perry about a possible international backlash if the state makes good on its promise to execute a Mexican national today for the rape and murder 15 years ago of two Houston girls.
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on Monday unanimously recommended against a reprieve for Jose Ernesto Medellin (right), who was convicted in the crimes.
Perry was expected to make a final decision Tuesday on Medellin’s fate, reported Dave Montgomery of the Star-Telegram's bureau in Washington, D.C.
He also reported that the Bush administration, the Mexican government and much of the diplomatic community have warned of an international backlash if the execution goes forward without a hearing on Medellin’s claim that he was denied an opportunity to contact the Mexican consulate after his arrest.
But the issue of a consular visit, Montgomery added, also looms large in the case of condemned killer Heliberto Chi of Arlington (left).
Chi, a native of Honduras, is scheduled for execution Thursday, but his lawyer has argued that Chi didn't get to visit with a representative of his homeland after his arrest for the March 2001 killing of an Arlington men’s clothing store manager.
A hearing was set for Tuesday in Fort Worth on a request by the lawyer to have Chi's execution date set aside.
Read more the rest of Montgomery's report here.
-- Bill Miller