It seems odd to me that President Bush has now decided that perhaps not all executions in Texas should take place, given that as Governor, he denied clemency to 152 persons. Since he now feels that international law should interfere with the execution of a Mexican national under Texas law, I thought I would look up his own record and see how many people with hispanic surnames were executed while Mr. Bush was governor.

Admittedly, assessing surnames is not very accurate and since I am not an archivist, I have to rely on what I can find in the few snippets of info I can glean for the internet. I have gleaned the following somewhat morbid list (19 total):

Gonzales, Joe Fedelfido, # 999177, September 18, 1996
Losada, Davis, June 4, 1997
Montoya, Irineo Tristan, #847, June 18, 1997
Cruz, Pedro, May 19, 1998
Navariz, Leopoldo, Jr., June 26, 1998
Camacho, Genaro Ruiz, August 26, 1998 (1998-1999)
Cruz, Javier, # 999061, October 1, 1998
Vega, Martin Sauceda, January 26, 1999
Cordova, George, # 706, February 10, 1999
Rector, Charles, # 721, March 25, 1999
De la Cruz, Jose Eliju, May 4, 1999
Trevino, Joe Mario, August 18, 1999
Cantu, Domingo, October 28, 1999
Gutierrez, Jose Angel, # 970, November 18, 1999 (1999-2000)
Nuncio, Paul Selso, # 999158, June 15, 2000
San Miguel, Jessy Carlos, # 999008, June 29, 2000
Soria, Juan Salvez, # 000837, July 26, 2000
Cruz, Oliver David, # 954, August 9, 2000
Flores, Miguel Angel, # 983, November 9, 2000

Admittedly, some of these folks are probably not Mexican nationals, and some may not even be hispanic, but isn’t it ironic that Mr. Bush never brought this issue up while he was Governor? Were there no Mexican nationals that were given the ultimate punishment in Texas while Bush was Governor, or were Mexican nationals preferentially spared by him?

I am still very conflicted about the death penalty and no matter how you look at it, a life is being taken by the state, and with such a serious punishment should come some serious discussion.

I did check out just one from the list above and found the following information:

Miguel Angel Flores

Executed November 9, 2000 by Lethal Injection in Texas

75th murderer executed in U.S. in 2000
673rd murderer executed in U.S. since 1976
35th murderer executed in Texas in 2000
234th murderer executed in Texas since 1976

Flores was convicted and sentenced to death for the June 1989 murder of Eastern New Mexico University student, Angela Tyson, who was working for the summer at a local video rental store. Flores kidnapped Tyson as she was closing and leaving the store. Flores forced Tyson into her car and then drove to a remote location away from the city. There, he raped her and stabbed her repeatedly, leaving her in the car, then fled the scene. Flores turned himself in to the police the day her body was found, confessing to the crime. Flores was a mexican foreign national with no prior criminal record.

Defense attorney Richard Ellis, who witnessed the execution, said the governor’s lack of action in this case sends a “very dangerous signal” to the rest of the world regarding the U.S. approach to violations of the Vienna Convention. Flores’ attorneys have argued that, at least in part because Borger authorities didn’t notify the Mexican consulate of his arrest in 1989, his trial was unfair. Protesters lined a block along with Huntsville Unit, chanting “justice” and “George Bush is a serial killer.” Representatives of the Mexican and Argentine consulates were present. Marco Dosal, a spokesman for the Mexican consulate, said those leaders would continue to protest the executions of Mexican nationals in Texas. With the execution of Flores, 16 other nationals are on death row.

This guy was a bad hombre and probably got what he deserved and the family of his victim at least knows he will never strike again.

So, my question is this, if Gov. George Bush of Texas can execute a Mexican national for brutally raping and stabbing a young woman, why can’t the current Govenrnor of Texas execute a Mexican national for brutally raping and killing 2 girls, one of whom was 14 years old and the other 16 years old:

The father of a 14-year-old Texas girl who was raped, sodomized and then strangled with a belt and shoe laces, wants to know why President Bush supports halting the execution of the Mexican national who confessed to killing his daughter and her friend.

“Our daughters are just pawns in a game that we have no control over,” Randy Ertman, father of Jennifer Ertman, told FOX News. “What can I say to the president of the United States or the Supreme Court that would make any difference?”

Jennifer Ertman, 14, and her classmate, Elizabeth Pena, 16, were brutally raped and killed in 1993 after stumbling upon a gang. Jose “Joe” Ernesto Medellin, who was born in Mexico but spent much of his childhood in Texas, confessed to the killings and was sentenced to death. But 14 years later, Medellin still sits in a Texas prison cell as the White House argues that his conviction was flawed because Houston police failed to tell him of his right to seek help from the Mexican consulate.

President Bush has not answered this question and he owes these girls’ families and the american people an answer.

As a side note, Medellin was on death row while Gov. Bush was in office, so had his case came up to the Governor’s desk in Austin earlier, we would have met the same fate as Flores.

And this final quote from Jennifer Ertman’s father:

Ertman said he feels betrayed by Bush’s decision. Ertman shook Bush’s hand when he was running for president, asking him if he remembered the girls and if he would keep their killers on death row. Bush said he would keep them on death row, Ertman said.

“He shook my hand and lied,” Ertman said.

Fox News Story here.
University of Texas Archives site here.
Full story about Flores here.

***update****
Thanks to Mdefl the following link to and interview with Mr. Ertman with Glenn Beck is here.