Lockyer Studies Impact of Death Row Ruling

One day after the International Court of Justice ruled that the sentences of 51 Mexicans on death row should be reconsidered, a California attorney general’s spokesman said his office planned to consult with prosecutors around the state to determine applicable cases.

The Hague court ruled that the sentences should be reviewed because Mexicans were illegally deprived of assistance from the Mexican Consulate. Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer’s spokesman Nathan Barankin said the issue would ultimately be decided in the courts and that California was waiting to see the outcome in Oklahoma, where convicted murderer Osvaldo Torres Aguilera is scheduled to be executed next month. California may also seek guidance from the U.S. State Department, he said.

There are 28 Mexican nationals on death row in California, but Barankin said two of the inmates were exempt from the ruling because they had dual citizenship or were advised about their rights under the 1963 Vienna Convention of Consular Relations to request help from their consulates. An additional nine received notification of their rights, but the international court determined that it was not in a timely fashion.

Barankin said the office will remind district attorneys to provide consular notification to Mexican nationals in current and future cases.

Lawyers for several death row inmates said Thursday that they were pleased with the ruling and planned to raise the issue in their appeals and habeas corpus petitions.

“I was very glad they found that without a doubt the U.S. had violated the Vienna Convention,” said Michael Snedeker, an attorney with the California Appellate Project, which provides assistance to lawyers filing appeals in death row cases. Consular officials could provide critical assistance to defendants, especially in gathering information about their upbringing.

Defense attorney Anthony Dain said he was pleased by the ruling, but he added that he was skeptical about whether it would be enforced. “This administration is very much narcissistic and believes that the world exists on a subservient level to the United States,” he said.