For years, the Mexican government has made a great show of protesting the executions of Mexican murderers in the U.S.

Several years ago I wrote an article which was entitled For Fox, Some Dead Mexicans More Equal Than Others. It's about how the earthly remains of executed cop-killer Javier Suarez Medina received a hero's welcome in Mexico, with a flag-covered casket and 6,000 mourners at a four and a half hour funeral.

Another Mexican, Jose Medellin (or Joe Medellin as he preferred to be called) was just executed in Texas. Despite protest from the Mexican government, the Medellin execution has failed to stir up much commotion in Mexico. My impression is most Mexicans don't give a hoot. Some have even defended the execution.

Plus, Mexico has plenty of violence here, which is leading some Mexicans to call for the re-institution of the death penalty in their country .

According to an AP article entitled Medellin's death gets little notice in crime-weary Mexico, (Mark Stevenson, Aug. 6th, 2008), a lawyer interviewed in Mexico City while his shoes were being shined was asked about the Medellin execution and responded in this manner:

There is no reason for outrage. The man was a rapist. If we had the death penalty here, there wouldn't be so many crimes.

Sergio Sarmiento, a very sharp Mexican pundit whom I quote from time to time, wrote a few columns in recent months putting the case in perspective, describing the savagery of Medellin's crime.

These columns provoked the wrath of Edgar Rebollar, a Mexican diplomat who functions as a protective consul in Omaha. So Rebollar wrote to Sarmiento to complain. In his Aug. 6th column , Sarmiento quoted the irate consul, who wrote to the commentator that,

After having read your articles, the reader can get the impression that the Mexican government spends the tax money of his fellow citizens in the defense of criminals. Once again I repeat, Mr. Sarmiento, the Mexican government does not defend criminals nor does it ask that they be exonerated. As you should know, in our country the death penalty is not applied and that is the only thing that our government asks of the U.S. government.

So according to Rebollar,the U.S. government should not be permitted to execute Mexicans, regardless of what they do.

Sarmiento quoted more of Rebollar's letter, responded to it, and concluded with this comment:

" .. in neither of his [Rebollar's] two letters has he even mentioned the names of Elizabeth Pena and Jennifer Ertman. Maybe for Mexican diplomats there are those condemned to death, but no victims of their crimes."