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NEW YORK - August 4 -
The National Lawyers Guild's president and past presidents have written to Governor Rick Perry of Texas asking him to stay the execution of Jose Medellin, scheduled for tomorrow, until Congress acts on the Avena Case Implementation Act. This legislation has been introduced in the House of Representatives as H.R. 6481 with similar legislation to be introduced in the Senate. The Guild has also called on each individual Senator and Representative to ask that they request immediate action the Avena Act.
If passed, the Act will address the concerns raised in the Supreme Court ruling in Medellin v. Texas and will require the State of Texas to comply with federal legislation directly on point to Mr. Medellin's situation. The Avena case was filed by Mexico against the United States on behalf of various Mexican nationals (including Mr. Medellin) alleging that the United States had violated its obligation under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to notify foreign nationals arrested in the United States of their right to consult with people at their country's consulate before talking to the authorities. The ICJ ruled that the Convention had been violated and called for review of the convictions of individuals obtained in the absence of this notice.
The importance of this legislation is enormous, as failure to implement the Avena decision in the Medellin case has serious implications for Americans traveling, working, and volunteering abroad. The security of Americans volunteering abroad--as missionaries, aid volunteers, and private citizen ambassadors--has been placed at risk by U.S. noncompliance with Vienna Convention on Consular Relations obligations. American citizens working abroad are at times detained by oppressive or undemocratic regimes, and access to the American consulate is critical to their safety, and to the United States' ability to support them and provide for their needs.
Founded in 1937 as an alternative to the American Bar Association, which did not admit people of color, the National Lawyers Guild is the oldest and largest public interest/human rights bar organization in the United States. Its headquarters are in New York and it has chapters in every state.
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