LaGrand brothers

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The brothers Walter Bernhard LaGrand (born January 26, 1962 in Dillingen an der Donau ; † March 3, 1999 in Florence , Arizona , USA ) and Karlheinz (also Karl-Heinz ) LaGrand (born October 20, 1963 in Augsburg ; † 24. February 1999 in Florence) attacked the Valley National Bank in Marana , Arizona on January 7, 1982 . Since Karl LaGrand stabbed the bank director Ken Hartsock to death , both were sentenced to death . Although they had lived in the United States since early childhood, the brothers were exclusively German citizens .

Both could choose between lethal injection and gas chamber . They chose the gas chamber because they hoped that the Supreme Court judgment would be deemed too cruel. This was not the case, however, and so Karl LaGrand changed his decision and requested execution by lethal injection. Walter, on the other hand, stuck to his decision in favor of the gas chamber until the end.

Walter LaGrand is to date the last person to be executed in the gas chamber in the USA.

Diplomatic entanglements

The case led to diplomatic entanglements between the United States and Germany : In accordance with Article 36 paragraphs 1 and 2 of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations , the US authorities should have informed the brothers of their right to consular assistance from the German government . However, this was not done. For those sentenced to death, the then Ambassador Jürgen Chrobog , the Bundestag member Claudia Roth and Amnesty International stood up for the governor of Arizona Jane Dee Hull and the pardon committee of Arizona. They refused a pardon. The US position that the federal agencies called upon to make a decision are not bound by the Vienna Convention was considered incorrect by the German side.

However, the political intervention was criticized as being too late and having only come about through media pressure.

Legal meaning

Shortly before Walter LaGrand's execution, the Federal Republic of Germany filed a lawsuit alleging violation of the right to be heard , and the Arizona court dismissed the lawsuit. A complaint was then brought to the United States Supreme Court. This dismissed the action with reference to the 11th Amendment to the United States Constitution .

A lawsuit filed with the International Court of Justice (ICJ) initially led to an interim injunction from the ICJ on March 3, 1999, which, however, was ignored by the US authorities. In 2001 the ICJ ruled that the USA had violated international law with the execution. In particular, the IGH made it clear for the first time that its interim orders were binding.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Searchable Execution Database. Death Penalty Information Center, accessed on February 23, 2015 (English, selection “Gas Chamber” under “Methods”).
  2. ↑ Karen Bagge: The Arrogance of Great Power. In: Amnesty Journal. April 1999, archived from the original on February 23, 2015 ; accessed on February 23, 2015 .
  3. ↑ German Bundestag November 11/2000 ( Memento from May 3, 2005 in the Internet Archive ), Abolition of the death penalty in the USA (PDF)
  4. ↑ Fatina Keilani, Jost Müller-Neuhof: LaGrand case: Against the rules. Der Tagesspiegel , June 27, 2001, accessed on February 23, 2015 .
  5. ^ The Federal Republic of Germany et al. v. United States et al. Supreme Court judgment. Cornell University Law School, March 3, 1999, accessed February 23, 2015 .
  6. ↑ International Court of Justice: LaGrand (Germany v. United States of America). Archived from the original on July 3, 2017 ; accessed on February 23, 2015 .