OEA/Ser.L/V/161 REPORT No. 24/ 17 Doc.31 18 March 2017 CASE 12.254 Original: English REPORT ON THE MERITS (PUBLICATION) VICTOR SALDAÑO UNITED STATES Approved by the Commission at its session No. 2077 held on March 18, 2017 161 Regular Period of Sessions Cite as: IACHR, Report No. 24/17, Case 12.254. Merits. Víctor Saldaño. United States. March 18, 2017. www.cidh.org REPORT No. 24/17 CASE 12.254 MERITS (PUBLICATION) VÍCTOR SALDAÑO UNITED STATES March 18, 2017 INDEX I. SUMMARY ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 4 II. PROCEEDINGS BEFORE THE COMMISSION ................................................................................................................... 5 III. POSITION OF THE PARTIES ................................................................................................................................................... 8 A. Position of the petitioners ........................................................................................................................................ 8 B. Position of the State ..................................................................................................................................................11 IV. ANALYSIS OF ADMISSIBILITY ............................................................................................................................................12 A. The Commission’s competence ratione materiae, ratione personae, ratione temporis, and ratione loci ......................................................................................................................................................................................12 B. Requirements for Admissibility ..........................................................................................................................13 1. Exhaustion of domestic remedies .......................................................................................................................13 2. Deadline for presentation of the petition ........................................................................................................14 3. Duplication of proceedings and international res judicata ..................................................................... 14 4. Colorable claim ...........................................................................................................................................................14 V. ESTABLISHED FACTS...............................................................................................................................................................15 A. Background, the first trial and death sentence .............................................................................................15 B. Writ of certiorari before the United States Supreme Court of Justice................................................. 20 C. Decision of the Court of Criminal Appeals of Texas and subsequent appeals ................................ 21 D. Second sentencing trial of Víctor Saldaño and subsequent appeals ................................................... 23 E. Conditions of detention on death row ..............................................................................................................27 VI. ANALYSIS OF THE MERITS ...................................................................................................................................................29 1. Preliminary considerations on the IACHR's standard of review in cases involving the death penalty 29 2. Right to a fair trial, due process of law and equality before law ........................................................... 30 2.1. Future dangerousness as a criterion for imposing the death penalty ................................................ 31 2.2. The use of race and nationality to determine future dangerousness ................................................. 32 2.3. The right to an adequate defense and procedural obstacles in the proceedings that led to imposition of the death penalty ............................................................................................................................................34 2.4. The duration of the proceedings .........................................................................................................................39 2.5. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................................39 2 3. Right of protection against arbitrary arrest, to humane treatment, and not to undergo cruel, infamous, or unusual punishment, with respect to the deprivation of liberty on death row.................... 40 3.1. Deprivation of liberty on death row based on discriminatory and illegitimate criteria ............ 40 3.2. The detention of Víctor Saldaño on death row, in solitary confinement, for more than 20 years 41 3.3. Conclusion .....................................................................................................................................................................44 4. The right to life with respect to the eventual execution of Víctor Saldaño ...................................... 44 VII. REPORT No. 76/16 ...................................................................................................................................................................45 VIII. ACTIONS SUBSEQUENT TO REPORT No. 76/16 .......................................................................................................45 IX. REPORT No. 5/17 ......................................................................................................................................................................46 X. ACTIONS SUBSEQUENT TO REPORT No. 5/17 ..........................................................................................................46 XI. FINAL CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS ...................................................................................................46 XII. PUBLICATION ..............................................................................................................................................................................47 3 REPORT No. 24/17 CASE 12,254 MERITS (PUBLICATION) VÍCTOR SALDAÑO UNITED STATES1 March 18, 2017 I. SUMMARY 1. On June 23, 1998, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights ("the Inter-American Commission" or "the IACHR") received a petition presented by Juan Carlos Vega, Lidia Guerrero, Rodolfo Ojea Quintana, Tomas Ojea Quintana and Carlos Hairabedian ("the petitioners")2 against the United States of America ("the State" or "the United States").3 The petition was filed in the name of Víctor Hugo Saldaño ("the alleged victim" or "Mr. Saldaño") who was tried and sentenced to death in the state of Texas, where he remains on death row awaiting a final decision in the criminal process against him. 2. The petitioners allege several violations of the American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man ("the Declaration" or "the American Declaration"). In particular, they argue the violation of the rights to justice and due process to the detriment of Mr. Saldaño. They also allege violations of the right to equality before the law, as the death penalty was imposed in a discriminatory manner and taking into account the race and ethnicity of the alleged victim. They maintain that when Mr. Saldaño was subjected to the second trial in the case his mental health situation had deteriorated severely due to his prolonged detention on death row, and that his mental health was not taken into account in determining his capacity to stand trial, and was improperly taken into account as a factor against him. They allege that the prolonged process against him and the conditions on death row have caused serious harm to his mental health and constitute a violation of the right to humane treatment. They claim that the eventual execution of Víctor Saldaño in the circumstances in which the death penalty was imposed, would be contrary to the right to life. 3. The State argues that the death penalty does not constitute a violation of the American Declaration or of any other international treaty. It indicates that all the rights of Mr. Saldaño were respected through constitutional protections, which were detailed by the State in its written presentations. It indicates that these protections include those relating to appropriate conditions of detention, due process and non- discrimination. The State alleges that federal and state legislation provide sufficient guarantees regarding persons with mental disabilities subject to criminal prosecution and conviction. It indicates that the petitioners' claims have been fully and properly examined by the internal judicial system. Finally, the State alleges that domestic remedies have not been exhausted, so that the matter is inadmissible. 4. Having examined the positions of the parties and the established facts, the Inter-American Commission concluded that the United States is responsible for violating Articles I (right to life, liberty and personal security), II (right to equality before the law), XVIII (right to a fair trial), XXV (right of protection from arbitrary arrest) and XXVI (right to due process of law) of the American Declaration in the case of Víctor Saldaño. In the event the