March 22
OKLAHOMA:
A Mexican national serving life in a state prison for murder should have
been told before his trial that he had a right to contact his home
country's consulate, an Oklahoma County judge ruled.
Osbaldo Torres, 30, also had ineffective counsel at his trial, Oklahoma
County District Judge Twyla Mason Gray wrote in a court document.
Gray's findings are the result of a December hearing held at the request
of the State Court of Criminal Appeals. The appeals court wanted the judge
to hear evidence about Torres' representation and to determine if American
officials had violated protections guaranteed by the Vienna Convention on
Consular Relations.
The judge's findings have been sent to the higher court, but there is no
timetable for when appellate judges must rule, attorneys said. The appeals
court could order a new trial for Torres or affirm his conviction.
Oklahoma County Assistant District Attorney Pattye High, who prosecuted
Torres at his trial in 1996, said she wasn't surprised by Gray's findings.
High said her office maintains the position the defendant had effective
counsel.
Defense attorney Mark Henricksen said he was pleased and that the law
compelled Gray to make her findings.
Torres has argued in his appeal that he should have been told the Mexican
consul could be notified about his case. The Vienna Convention, ratified
by the U.S. Senate in 1969, calls for foreign citizens to be advised when
they are arrested that such contact can be made.
Torres was convicted and sentenced to death for the 1993 killings of Maria
Yanez, 35, and her common-law husband, Francisco Morales, 38. The couple
was shot to death as they slept in their southwest Oklahoma City home.
Torres' codefendant, George Ochoa, 30, was also convicted and sentenced to
death. Ochoa is on death row.
Torres' death penalty was commuted by Gov. Brad Henry in May. The
defendant is serving a life sentence without parole at the Oklahoma State
Penitentiary in McAlester.
(source: The Oklahoman)
