By Erica Laster Impunity Watch Reporter, North America
WASHINGTON, United States – The state of Texas executed Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr. on Thursday evening amid outcries from human rights organizations. Despite the Mexican national’s conviction for the kidnapping, rape and murder of a 16 year old Texas girl in 1994, government officials argued that the United States failure to place Garcia in contact with the Mexican consulate upon his arrest violated international treaty obligations under the Vienna Convention.
Garcia’s victim was 16 year old Adria Sauceda. Garcia was convicted of raping and strangling the young girl before using a 35 pound chunk of asphalt to bludgeon her.
Both the Bush and Obama administrations requested reprieves and clemency for the Garcia before his execution by lethal injection. The case prompted a flurry of disputes over the United States’ commitments to international agreements and the rights of foreigners currently on American death rows.
CNN reports Garcia’s last statement before his execution as, “I am sorry for everything I have done. I have hurt a lot of people. Let this be final and be done. I take the full blame for this.” Garcia then shouted “Viva Mexico” before turning to the warden and stating “I’m ready warden, let’s get this show on the road.”
Garcia’s appellate attorneys argued that their client’s sentence was unusual and that violations of the Vienna convention should at least have given Garcia a reprieve from death row. They cited the 2004 ruling of the International Court of Justice ordered the United States to review convictions of Mexican nationals who received the death penalty.
However, CNN reports that in a 5-4 ruling by the Supreme Court requesting a stay of execution, the majority opinion indicated that “We decline to follow the United States’ suggestion of granting a stay to allow Leal to bring a claim based on hypothetical legislation when it cannot even bring itself to say that his attempt to overturn his conviction has any prospect of success.”
Diplomats and rights organizations in both the U.S. and Mexico expressed disappointment in the result of the case. However, critics argue that the Vienna Convention is not binding upon individual states without the passage of enabling legislation by Congress.
U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay stated that this “execution will undermine the role of the International Court of Justice, and its ramifications are likely to spread far beyond Texas.” Many believe that this will cause retaliation and reprisals against Americans abroad.
“Frankly, if we don’t protect the rights of non-Americans in the United States we seriously risk reciprocal lack of access to our own citizens overseas,” says State Department spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland. Nuland made clear that the Obama administration strongly opposed the outcome and is currently working to speed legislation specifically defining the rights of non U.S. citizens to consular access.
For more information, please see:
Washington Post – Mexican National’s Execution in Texas Prompts Diplomatic Disappointment – 8 July 2011
Reuters – U.S. Seeks to Limit Damage of Texas Execution Case – 8 July 2011
CNN – Mexican National Executed in Texas – 7 July 2011
Washington Post – Execution of Mexican National Prompts Concern About Impact – 7 July 2011
