For a convicted murderer, Humberto Leal Garcia seems to have plenty of powerful people in his corner. In the last few days appeals for delaying the execution of this death row inmate have come from the Mexican ambassador, various UN officials and even the Obama administration’s Solicitor-General.
However, it’s not really Mr. Leal they’re defending, but a point of international law; a point that many say the US is obliged to uphold, and which Texas Governor Rick Perry will violate if he doesn’t halt the killing.
Mr. Leal was arrested in San Antonio in 1994 and charged with the rape and murder of a sixteen year-old girl. Some of his defenders say he was convicted on the basis of “junk science” that was not adequately debunked by what they dismiss as incompetent lawyers.
What lifts the case into the international sphere, though, are two details. First – Mr. Leal is Mexican, though his family moved to America when he was two years old. The second point stems from this: as a foreign national he should have been told he could contact the Mexican consulate for legal aid. His more ardent supporters argue that the Mexican government could have paid for better lawyers to present his case more persuasively.
The right to consular access, then, is the key here. Neither the Obama administration nor the international officials are saying Mr. Leal is innocent. What they are saying is that his case should be the subject of a review to determine whether Mexican assistance could have changed his sentence.
They’re backed by a 2004 ruling from the International Court of Justice. That specifically requested such a review for Mr. Leal and fifty other Mexican nationals like him. These officials say if Texas proceeds with the execution, violating this ruling and showing disregard for the original treaty, then it could have “serious repercussions.” Relations with Mexico would certainly be damaged. More worryingly, they claim, it could encourage other nations to show a similar disdain for allowing consular access when Americans find themselves in legal difficulties abroad.
Gov. Perry could still order a stay of execution. So far he shows no signs of heeding these warnings, and he does have some legal arguments on his side. When the Supreme Court was handed a similar situation in 2008 it ruled that Texas was not bound to obey the ICJ unless Congress passed legislation stating otherwise.
That legislation was only belatedly introduced, and has yet to work its way through the usual thickets. Hence the Obama administration asking for the execution to be delayed until at least the end of this Congressional term.
The clock is ticking on this Texan showdown. Reports indicate that Mr. Leal has already picked out his last meal: fried chicken and beef tacos. Gov. Perry has until roughly 6pm Thursday to make a final call on whether he’ll be eating them or not.
