Mexican National on Texas death row creating international stir

Fox News this morning has an article about the pending execution of a Mexican national in the United States scheduled for today “becoming something of an international brouhaha.”

Fox News reports that “President Obama, the State Department and Mexico, have all asked the State of Texas for a last-minute reprieve of Humberto Leal, 38, who was convicted in 1995 in the brutal raping and murder of a teenage girl, citing the U.N.-enforced 1963 Vienna Treaty, which officials believe Leal could have altered his penalty with had he been given the chance.

“The treaty requires foreign nationals who are arrested in foreign countries the right to access their consulates. Texas police would have been required to inform Leal that he has the legal right to contact the Mexican consular, which could have offered him legal advice.” ( Text of Convention )

The Obama administration petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to stop the execution, last Friday, asking the court to delay the execution for up to six months to give Congress time to consider legislation that would enforce the U.N. treaty. “Congress reportedly has had three years to pass the bill but has not, so it is impossible to pass it in time to spare Leal unless a stay is ordered. ( Amicus brief )

ScotusBlog pointed to the editorial board of the New York Times also urging the Court to grant Leal’s request for a stay, arguing that it would be a “miscarriage of justice” if he were executed before Congress can pass legislation to ensure that states comply with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations.

Texas, though, “appears to bristle at the idea of a foreign body affecting judgments in the state, even though President George W. Bush endorsed the U.N. ruling,” Fox’s article says.

“Texas is not bound by a foreign court’s ruling,” Katherine Cesinger, press secretary for Gov. Perry's office said in a statement. “The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 2008 that the treaty was not binding on the states and that the president does not have the authority to order states to review cases of the then 51 foreign nationals on death row in the U.S.”