Badges - Re: Mexican man's Texas execution in rape, murder appealed by White House

  • From: Christopher Karney <chk8093@xxxxxxx>
  • To: "badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx" <badges@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
  • Date: Thu, 7 Jul 2011 16:19:17 -0500

This administration is out of control and out of touch with the average person.

Sent from my iPhone

On Jul 7, 2011, at 14:40, CarlGlas@xxxxxxxxxxx wrote:

> Mexican man's Texas execution in rape, murder appealed by White House
> Published: Thursday, July 07, 2011
> 
> 
> HUNTSVILLE, Texas — The planned execution Thursday of a Mexican national has 
> prompted a flurry of appeals on his behalf, including a rare plea from the 
> White House, because of what it could mean for other foreigners arrested in 
> the U.S. and for Americans detained in other countries.
> 
> Humberto Leal, 38, is awaiting a ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court on whether 
> to block his lethal injection in Huntsville. He was sentenced to die for the 
> 1994 rape and murder of 16-year-old Adria Sauceda of San Antonio.
> 
> The appeal contends that authorities never told Leal after his arrest that he 
> could seek legal assistance from the Mexican government under an 
> international treaty, and that such assistance would have aided his defense. 
> Leal moved to the U.S. as a toddler.
> 
> Leal's attorneys have support from the White House, the Mexican government 
> and other diplomats who believe the execution should be delayed so his case 
> can be thoroughly reviewed.
> 
> "There can be little doubt that if the government of Mexico had been allowed 
> access to Mr. Leal in a timely manner, he would not now be facing execution 
> for a capital murder he did not commit," Leal's attorneys told the Texas 
> Board of Pardons and Paroles in a clemency request rejected Tuesday. 
> "Unfortunately, Mexico's assistance came too late to affect the result of Mr. 
> Leal's capital murder prosecution."
> 
> Obama administration made request to Supreme Court last week
> 
> President Barack Obama's administration took the unusual step of intervening 
> in a state murder case when it asked the Supreme Court last week to delay 
> Leal's execution for up to 6 months. The U.S. solicitor general told the 
> court that Congress needed time to consider legislation that would allow 
> federal courts to review cases of condemned foreign nationals to determine if 
> the lack of consular help made a significant difference in the outcome of 
> their cases.
> 
> The legislation, backed by the U.S. State Department and the United Nations, 
> would bring the U.S. into compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular 
> Relations provision regarding the arrest of foreign nationals.
> 
> Lower courts already rejected the pleas, agreeing with the Texas Attorney 
> General's office that since the legislation hasn't been passed and signed 
> into law, it doesn't apply. At least 2 measures like it failed earlier in 
> Congress.
> 
> "Leal's argument is nothing but a transparent attempt to evade his impending 
> punishment," Stephen Hoffman, an assistant attorney general for the state of 
> Texas, told the Supreme Court.
> 
> Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., wrote numerous 
> congressional members and Texas officials calling attention to the 
> legislation and the case and urged Gov. Rick Perry to stop the punishment.
> 
> Perry had the authority to issue a one-time 30-day reprieve but made no 
> decision while the courts remained involved.
> 
> Leal had said he knew girls' parents, would take her home
> 
> Prosecutors said on the night she was killed, Sauceda was drunk and high on 
> cocaine at an outdoor party in an undeveloped neighborhood of San Antonio and 
> was assaulted by several males. At some point, prosecutors said, Leal showed 
> up and said he knew her parents and would take her home and explain the 
> situation to them.
> 
> Witnesses said Leal drove off with Sauceda around 5 a.m. Some partygoers 
> found her brutalized body later that morning and called police, prosecutors 
> said. When officers arrived, they found Sauceda's head battered by a 30- to 
> 40-pound chunk of asphalt and evidence that she had been bitten, strangled 
> and raped. A large stick that had a screw protruding from it was left in her 
> body.
> 
> Leal, a mechanic, was identified as the last person seen with her. He was 
> questioned and arrested.
> 
> A witness testified Leal's brother appeared at the party, agitated that Leal 
> had arrived home bloody and saying he had killed a girl. Testifying during 
> the trial's punishment phase, Leal acknowledged being intoxicated and doing 
> wrong but said he wasn't responsible for what prosecutors alleged.
> 
> The question of protection for foreign nationals under the international 
> treaty isn't new.
> 
> President George W. Bush in 2005 agreed with an International Court of 
> Justice ruling that Leal and 50 other Mexican-born inmates nationwide should 
> be entitled to new hearings in U.S. courts to determine if their consular 
> rights were violated at the time of their arrests. The Supreme Court later 
> overruled Bush, negating the decision from the Netherlands-based court.
> 
> Jose Medellin, condemned for participating in the rape-slayings of two 
> Houston teenage girls, in 2008 raised a Vienna Convention claim similar to 
> the one pending for Leal. It failed and he was executed.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997
> 

The Badges Law Enforcement Discussion Group - Est. 1997

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