Not guilty by reason of diplomacy

The world court ruled Wednesday that the United States violated the rights of 51 Mexicans on death row to receive diplomatic help, and ordered Washington to review their cases.

Diplomatic help from the Mexican Consulate would not have changed the fact that they committed the crimes they committed. It would only have provided them with one more way to try and weasel out of doing time for the crimes they committed.

The ruling by the International Court of Justice could mean a reprieve or another chance of appeal for the inmates, including one scheduled to die May 18 in Oklahoma. It also could have implications for other foreign citizens in U.S. prisons who were not told they could receive help from their governments.

“A reprieve or another chance of appeal”? Why? I don’t believe I have ever read anything in the U.S. Constitution that says citizens from another country who commit crimes in our country will be allowed to walk free.

In hearings in December, lawyers for Mexico argued that any U.S. citizen accused of a serious crime abroad would want the same right, and the only fair solution for the men allegedly denied diplomatic help was to start their legal processes all over again.

…

Fierro was convicted of shooting a taxi driver to death, Ramos was convicted of killing his wife and two children with a hammer, and Torres was convicted of killing two people during a burglary.

While I agree that if a foreigner commits a crime on U.S. soil, they should indeed have access to their respective diplomatic representative, I hardly think that the legal process should be started all over again if that diplomatic contact does not come before the trial.

In fact, I can guarantee that diplomatic access would not have prevented the deaths of the taxi driver, the wife, the two children or the other two people.

Bottom line for citizens as well as foreigners: You do the crime, you do the time!