I have always wanted to link a story from the Tehran Times...now I have.

Texas Snubs World Court on Execution Decision

HOUSTON (Reuters) -- Texas snubbed the World Court on Wednesday, saying the international tribunal's order to review the cases of 51 Mexicans on death row in the United States did not apply in the nation's busiest death penalty state.

The International Court of Justice, also known as the World Court, on Wednesday ordered the United States to review the convictions and sentences of 51 Mexican defendants.

The court sided with Mexico in finding that the condemned men, held in 10 different states, were not apprised of their right under the 1963 Vienna Convention on Consular Relations to seek help from the Mexican consulate after their arrests.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry's office said the decision would have no effect on the 16 affected cases in his state.

"Gov. Perry certainly respects the right of the World Court to have an opinion, however, they have no standing and no authority in the state of Texas," Perry spokesman Robert Black said.

"There is due process in this state and in this country and unless we're ordered otherwise by the federal government, this opinion has no effect in the state of Texas," he said.

The U.S. Ambassador to the Netherlands, Clifford Sobel, said the decision was being reviewed. In the past, the United States has rebuffed such rulings as an infringement on its sovereign rights.

Texas, once an independent nation, has long resisted external interference in its affairs and has a history of ignoring pleas for clemency in its no-nonsense justice system.