Will in New Haven wrote:

"At least a retrial." You are saying that under some circumstances he
should get _better_ than a retrial? That he might get to walk? I am
not against allowing him contact with his consular officer and a
retrial. I actually have plenty of confidence in Mexico not to have
much sympathy for a rapist and child-murderer. _Unless_ there is some
question about his actually _having done it_, I think his friendly
consular official would say "Fry, you *******. You have besmirched the
honor of your nation."

But, being a foreign national, shouldn't that ruling be up to the courts
of HIS nation? Deportation of an illegal to his own own country when he
has committed a crime in ours isn't necessarily a favor to him - many
countries impose far harsher punishments (and far swifter) than we do
here. I know we have a president who doesn't quite believe in the
existence of sovereign nations other than the U.S., but at the rate he's
been going, we may find ourselves in Germany's shoes, post WW2!
(Ironic, given the fact that in many cases the U.S. was instrumental in
promoting and upholding "international law" - banning torture, insisting
upon humane treatment of prisoners, etc.)


Ignoring the court that hears Geneva Convention cases? The very thought
makes me shudder.

I don't recognize any sovereignty but that of the individual and the
U.S. federal government.

That's true for citizens of the U.S.A. - it's what gives Americans
arrested abroad the right to appeal to their consulate. Are you saying
foreign nationals arrested here should not have the same right? We live
in a world made up of MANY sovereign nations - we may not approve of all
their governments, but that's really none of our business. Isn't it
high time we tried to co-exist, rather than arrogantly assuming we have
some God-given right to dictate to the entire world?