aGameOfThrones
07-08-2011, 09:23 AM
(Reuters) - Texas executed a Mexican national on Thursday over objections from President Barack
Obama's administration that the action would violate international treaty obligations and put U.S. citizens abroad at risk.
In a case that garnered international attention, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute stay of execution on the grounds that Humberto Leal Garcia was not told of his right to diplomatic counsel when arrested.
Leal Garcia, 38, was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. CDT (7:21 p.m. EDT) after he was given a lethal injection at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.
Leal Garcia, who had lived in the United States since he was an infant, was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl and bludgeoning her to death with a piece of asphalt in 1994.
In a last statement provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Leal Garcia apologized to the victim's family and asked for their forgiveness.
"I truly am sorry. That is all. Let's get this show on the road," Leal Garcia said, according to the transcript. "One more thing, Viva Mexico, Viva Mexico."
In legal briefs filed before the Supreme Court, the U.S. government had warned that the execution would create an "irreparable breach" of international law, and Mexico's government said it would "seriously jeopardize" cross-border cooperation on joint ventures and extraditions.
The Obama administration had sought a temporary stay until January 2012 to allow Congress to weigh legislation that could clarify the rights of foreigners to consular access.
Without new guidance from Congress, the state of Texas is not obliged to honor the treaty after the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that states don't have to act absent federal law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/08/us-execution-texas-idUSTRE7667FG20110708
Yeah, but you're too afraid to stand up to the federal government over the TSA.
Obama's administration that the action would violate international treaty obligations and put U.S. citizens abroad at risk.
In a case that garnered international attention, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a last-minute stay of execution on the grounds that Humberto Leal Garcia was not told of his right to diplomatic counsel when arrested.
Leal Garcia, 38, was pronounced dead at 6:21 p.m. CDT (7:21 p.m. EDT) after he was given a lethal injection at a prison in Huntsville, Texas.
Leal Garcia, who had lived in the United States since he was an infant, was convicted of raping a 16-year-old girl and bludgeoning her to death with a piece of asphalt in 1994.
In a last statement provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Leal Garcia apologized to the victim's family and asked for their forgiveness.
"I truly am sorry. That is all. Let's get this show on the road," Leal Garcia said, according to the transcript. "One more thing, Viva Mexico, Viva Mexico."
In legal briefs filed before the Supreme Court, the U.S. government had warned that the execution would create an "irreparable breach" of international law, and Mexico's government said it would "seriously jeopardize" cross-border cooperation on joint ventures and extraditions.
The Obama administration had sought a temporary stay until January 2012 to allow Congress to weigh legislation that could clarify the rights of foreigners to consular access.
Without new guidance from Congress, the state of Texas is not obliged to honor the treaty after the Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that states don't have to act absent federal law.
http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/08/us-execution-texas-idUSTRE7667FG20110708
Yeah, but you're too afraid to stand up to the federal government over the TSA.