Argentina asks US court to define case of Víctor Saldaño, Cordovan sentenced to death

Argentina has appealed "Amicus Curiae" to the United States Supreme Court of Justice, which must clarify whether it admits to having handled the case of Cordovan Víctor Saldaño, convicted 22 years ago to the death penalty for the state of Texas, said the Foreign Ministry of our country.

The resource, which is supported by 13 countries in Latin America (Chile, Uruguay, Paraguay, Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador, Mexico, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Dominican Republic and El Salvador), was also supported by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), reported Télam.

The entity's approval stresses that the Amicus Curiae "reflects the determinations and conclusions" adopted by this body in the present case and considers "relevant" its presentation to the United States Supreme Court of Justice for the purpose : timely recommendations are met. "

"This presentation of Argentina joins the multiple actions performed for our country in defense of the life of our national for more than 20 years and responds to the traditional position of the country against the death penalty, "said the Foreign Ministry.

Foreign Minister Jorge Faurie received the mother of Víctor Saldaño, the only Argentine sentenced to maximum sentences in the United States and in post since 1996. in the "death row" of a Texas prison awaiting execution for the murder of a trader.

"Argentina is taking steps to add support to the Court for what it considers favorably Admission of the case to commute the sentence in Saldaño, according to the recommendation of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, "said the Ministry of Foreign Affairs at the end of this meeting.

The only way to stop them from running Saldaño is that the United States comply with the favorable sentence of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) to get him out of the death row, as he is known. Currently, only Cordoba's lawyer, Juan Carlos Vega, is represented by the IACHR.

The case

Saldaño has been sentenced to death twice by the Texas courts for the murder of Paul Ray King, a computer salesman at who murdered in November 1995 with an accomplice Mexican to steal a watch and $ 50 on the outskirts of the city of Plano.

One of those decisions was overturned by the US Supreme Court of Justice, after proving that a racist criterion was being used dictate the sentence. He is housed in a maximum security prison in Houston, under conditions that international human rights organizations describe as "torture".