Mick: the decision to proceed with the Mexican Citizen who was found guilty of raping and murdering two teenage American girls while he was in this country illegally was made by the state of Texas. George W. Bush could not, had he wanted to, stopped the execution. According to a Associated Press story printed in today's Arizona Republic, "The International Court of Justice said Medellin and some 50 other Mexicans on death row around the U. S. should have new hearings in U.S. courts to determine whether the 1963 treaty was violated during the arrests. Medellin was the first among them to die. President Bush asked states to review the cases, but the U.S. Supreme Court ruled earlier this year neither the president nor the international court can force Texas to wait."

The story continues: Medellin's lawyers asked the U.S. Supreme Court on Friday to stop the execution until legislation could be passed to formalize case reviews ordered by the International Court of Justice.

The high court said in its ruling that that possibility was too remote to justify a stay."

I would imagine the same story was printed in newspapers other than the "Republic."

DougR