New information on foreign nationals facing the death penalty in the U.S. is now available through Mark Warren of Human Rights Research. This DPIC page includes information on 143 foreign citizens from 37 countries on state and federal death rows. California has the most (59 inmates), followed by Texas (24), and Florida (23). Many of these inmates were not informed of their right to contact their country’s represenatives under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, a treaty the U.S. has ratified and relies upon to protect its citizens when they travel abroad. Thirty-one (31) foreign nationals have been executed in the U.S. since 1976, many of whom were not properly informed of their rights under this treaty. Among countries, Mexico has the largest number (60) of its citizens on death row in the U.S.
The case of Linda Carty, a United-Kingdom national from St. Kitts on death row in Texas, has garnered international attention. Her current lawyers assert that her trial attorney did not present available mitigating evidence and that no forensic evidence places her at the scene of the crime.
(DPIC posted, February 8, 2013). See Foreign Nationals; see also a report from Reprieve on this issue. See DPIC’s report on international issues. Listen to DPIC’s podcast on international issues.
