Editing LaGrand case (section)

==Background==

{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Karl-Heinz LaGrand
| image             = Karl_LaGrand.jpg
| birth_date        = October 20, 1963
| birth_place       = [[Augsburg]], [[West Germany]]
| death_date        = February 24, 1999 (aged 35)
| death_place       = [[Florence State Prison]], [[Florence, Arizona]], U.S.
| death_cause       = [[Execution by lethal injection]]
| criminal_status   = [[Executed]]
| criminal_penalty  = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
| conviction        = [[First degree murder]]<br>[[Attempted murder|Attempted first degree murder]]<br>[[Kidnapping]] (5 counts)<br>[[Robbery|Attempted armed robbery]]<br>[[Armed robbery]] (2 counts)<br>[[Aggravated assault]]
| date              = January 7, 1982
| victims           = Kenneth Hartsock, 63
| weapon            = [[Letter opener]]
| locations         = [[Marana, Arizona|Marana]]
| country           = [[United States]]
| states            = [[Arizona]]
}}

{{Infobox criminal
| name              = Walter Bernhard LaGrand
| image             = Walter_LaGrand.jpg
| birth_date        = January 26, 1962
| birth_place       = [[Augsburg]], [[West Germany]]
| death_date        = March 3, 1999 (aged 37)
| death_place       = [[Florence State Prison]], [[Florence, Arizona]], U.S.
| death_cause       = [[Execution by gas chamber]]
| criminal_status   = [[Executed]]
| criminal_penalty  = [[Capital punishment|Death]]
| conviction        = [[First degree murder]]<br>[[Attempted murder|Attempted first degree murder]]<br>[[Kidnapping]] (5 counts)<br>[[Robbery|Attempted aggravated robbery]]<br>[[Robbery|Attempted armed robbery]]<br>[[Armed robbery]] (2 counts)<br>[[Aggravated assault]]<br>[[Burglary|Third degree burglary]]
| date              = January 7, 1982
| victims           = Kenneth Hartsock, 63
| weapon            = [[Letter opener]]
| locations         = [[Marana, Arizona|Marana]]
| country           = [[United States]]
| states            = [[Arizona]]
}}

On January 7, 1982, brothers Karl-Heinz LaGrand (1963–1999) and Walter Bernhard LaGrand (1962–1999) bungled an armed bank robbery in [[Marana, Arizona]], killing 63-year-old Kenneth Hartsock by stabbing him 24 times with a letter opener, and severely injuring 20-year-old Dawn Lopez by stabbing her multiple times. Lopez later said she heard one of the brothers twice say, "Just make sure he's dead."<ref>{{Cite web|title=State v. LaGrand|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1987/6457-2.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Justia Law|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211223731/https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1987/6457-2.html|url-status=live}}</ref> They were subsequently charged and convicted of murder and sentenced to death. The LaGrands also had prior convictions for robbery and burglary, which were used against them during the sentencing phase of their trials.<ref>{{Cite web|title=State v. LaGrand|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1987/6456-2.html|access-date=2022-02-11|website=Justia Law|language=en|archive-date=2022-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211223223/https://law.justia.com/cases/arizona/supreme-court/1987/6456-2.html|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Print Inmate|url=https://inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov/PrintInmate.aspx?ID=042183|access-date=2022-02-11|website=inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov|archive-date=2022-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211230343/https://inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov/PrintInmate.aspx?ID=042183|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Print Inmate|url=https://inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov/PrintInmate.aspx?ID=044849|access-date=2022-02-11|website=inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov|archive-date=2022-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220211224840/https://inmatedatasearch.azcorrections.gov/PrintInmate.aspx?ID=044849|url-status=live}}</ref>

The LaGrands were German nationals, having been born in Germany to a German mother. While they had both lived in the United States since they were four and five, respectively, neither had obtained U.S. citizenship. As foreigners, the LaGrands should have been informed of their right to [[consular assistance]], under the Vienna Convention, from their state of nationality, Germany. However, the Arizona authorities failed to do this. The brothers later contacted Consul William Behrens, head of the German Consulate in Phoenix, on their own accord, having learned of their right to consular assistance. They appealed their sentences and convictions on the grounds that they were not informed of their right to consular assistance, and that with consular assistance they might have been able to mount a better defense. The federal courts rejected their argument on grounds of [[procedural default]], which provides that issues cannot be raised in federal court appeals unless they had first been raised in state courts.

Diplomatic efforts, including pleas by German Ambassador [[Jürgen Chrobog]] and German Member of Parliament [[Claudia Roth]], and the recommendation of Arizona's clemency board, failed to sway Arizona Governor [[Jane Dee Hull]], who insisted that the executions be carried out.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Shaffer |first1=Mark |title=No reprieve for German killer: International focus on Arizona case |work=The Arizona Republic |date=February 24, 1999 |pages=1A}}</ref> Karl LaGrand was executed on February 24, 1999, by lethal injection. Walter LaGrand was executed March 3, 1999, by [[gas chamber|lethal gas]] (upon his request).<ref>{{cite web |title=ExecutedToday.com » 1999: Walter LaGrand, a German gassed in America |url=http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/03/03/1999-walter-lagrand/ |language=en |access-date=2008-12-21 |archive-date=2021-06-09 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609052410/http://www.executedtoday.com/2008/03/03/1999-walter-lagrand/ |url-status=dead }}</ref>