Humberto Leal Garcia Executed In Texas After Obama Administration Argued For Stay

Texas executed a Mexican man on Thursday night after shrugging off concerns voiced by Obama administration lawyers and a broad cross-section of legal and foreign policy experts that the execution violated international law and could undermine the legal rights of Americans traveling or living abroad.

Humberto Leal Garcia, 38, convicted of the rape and murder of a 16-year-old San Antonio girl in 1994, was executed by lethal injection at the Texas death chamber in Huntsville.

A U.N.-backed tribunal court ruled in 2004 that Garcia was one of dozens of Mexican nationals sentenced to death by U.S. courts who had been denied their right to legal help from the Mexican consulate. The U.S. is party to a U.N. treaty granting the right of consular assistance to all foreigners charged with a crime.

The U.N. court's decision was endorsed by President George W. Bush, but rejected by the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled that only Congress had the power to compel states to review the cases of the condemned men.

Legislation to compel state courts to review the cases was introduced in June by Sen. Patrick Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, but no action has been taken on the bill yet.

In a decision late Thursday afternoon, the Supreme Court narrowly rejected a petition by U.S. Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr., who stated in a brief that Garcia's execution violated international law and could do "irreparable harm" to U.S. foreign policy interests.

Verrilli argued that the court should grant Garcia a stay of execution until Congress could vote on Sen. Leahy's legislation.

In a 5-4 decision, the court rejected his argument. "Our task is to rule on what the law is, not what it might eventually be," the unsigned majority decision declared.

A dissent by Justice Stephen Breyer, however, said that the majority was "wrong in each respect" in its decision to reject the petition.

The involvement of the White House in the case was particularly striking due to the heinous nature of Garcia's crime. He was convicted of bludgeoning 16-year-old Adria Sauceda to death after violating her with a tree branch. Both forensic evidence and witness statements tied Garcia to the crime; in statements to police, he acknowledged fighting with Sauceda and pushing her to the ground, where he said she hit her head.

Even so, a number of retired military officers, diplomats and prominent Republicans, including Lawrence Wilkerson, a retired U.S. Army colonel and former chief of staff to Gen. Colin Powell, also backed the appeal, noting that maintaining the integrity of an international treaty protecting the legal rights of Americans abroad was more important than delivering swift justice to one criminal, no matter how depraved.

Donald J. Guter, a retired rear admiral in the Navy's Judge Advocate General Corps, who signed a letter endorsing the Obama administration's appeal, called the case "terrible" and said he had "no sympathy" for Garcia.

"I'm looking to protect American citizens and American service members who travel overseas, and making sure they have the protection of the treaty," said Guter, now president and dean of the South Texas College of Law.

"I think we need to take a step back and ask what principle is at stake here, and what's best for American citizens," he said.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry declined to intervene in the Garcia case, and the Texas Board of Paroles and Pardons voted on Tuesday to allow the execution to proceed.

"Texas is not bound by a foreign court's ruling," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Perry. "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws."

Garcia was the seventh inmate put to death in Texas this year.

At least one prominent Republican directly criticized Perry, who is being courted by conservative activists to enter the 2012 presidential race, for failing to intervene in the case.

"I think his position is a parochial position," said John B. Bellinger III, the State Department's top attorney under President George W. Bush. "It's undercutting the ability of the State Department to protect all Americans, including Texans, when we travel outside the United States."

Whether the outcome of the case will impact Perry's national ambitions is questionable, however -- particularly since Garcia had some important final words.

In the moments before his execution, Garcia confessed to his crimes, adding a final twist to his lengthy legal saga, which had spanned more than 15 years and dozens of appeals and decisions by courts from San Antonio to The Hague. Since his arrest, he had steadfastly denied raping and murdering Sauceda.

"I am sorry for the victim's family for what I had did," he said. "May they forgive me."

Comments

[misipi6gun]

09:27 AM on 07/12/2011

On the first page story , he said " Viva Mexico " , just before he died ; I wonder why it was taken off . Maybe because it would make too many Americans on here too angry .

[Taylor Griffins]

06:26 PM on 07/11/2011

Edie Meidav's LOLA, CALIFORNIA, a new novel, out this week, deals thoughtfully with the question of the death penalty. I found it to be thought-provoking, boundary-pushing and relates to the Garcia case in interestingly oblique ways. I recommend it to readers who were stirred by this article.

[mtccz2005]

01:37 PM on 07/11/2011

It's kinda funny he finally confesed when he knew he was going to die. Had he confesed sooner to his victims he may still be alive. This is why we need water boarding. Casey would has told us where her daughter was if she had been water boarded !

[ThePeoriaKid]

03:54 PM on 07/11/2011

Yer an id iot.

[crankyCrackPot]

09:35 AM on 07/11/2011

Texas, please secede already.
We won't stop you, the Civil war was so 19th century.
And the Mexican drug overlords need the workers.

[lacarids]

09:10 AM on 07/11/2011

RE: Texas "shrugg(ed) off concerns voiced by Obama administration lawyers"

Hmmm...last I checked, the executive branch isn't in charge of the judicial branch. Obama needs to stay in his lane.

[laurawee]

08:40 PM on 09/02/2011

isn't everybody shrugging off Obama's administration these days?

[judgeroybean]

07:19 AM on 07/11/2011

One other thing about this case: The federal government passed an amnesty not quite 25 years back, and NAFTA not quite 20 years back. In both cases we were promised that illegal immigration would be ended by the legislation, in the former case through stepped up enforcement going forward, and in the latter because it would raise living standards in Mexico and thereby reduce the push factor.

Well, guess what? What we have had is instead non-enforcement by the US, and declining living standards in rural Mexico, with the result that there are probably 10 million Mexicans now illegally in this country (the overall 11.5 million figure is far too low, as anyone can tell by a little analysis and common sense).

So in this murder case, we have yet another specific instance where the federal government wants to lecture down to the states, which are confronting the burden of increased crime and other burdens due to this massive wave of illegal immigration.

Now the feds want the citizens to shrug and grant an amnesty to the massive illegal population, all larded with more promises, like all the illegals will learn English, and pay their back taxes, and on and on. Yeah, sure. We believe that.

To hell with that. To hell with "comprehensive immigration reform". Just enforce current law, or at least get out of the way of the states when they try to do the federal government's job.

[Razpooten]

10:12 PM on 09/02/2011

Is it xenophobia or just plain ignorance that keeps you making irelevant statements, judge?

[o5419069]

10:49 PM on 07/10/2011

Years ago, Texas Governor Mark White (a Democrat, by the way) was asked how he could sleep at night knowing that someone would be executed that night and he could have stopped it. He said that he takes a hot shower, drinks a glass of milk, brushes his teeth, fluffs his pillow and sleeps well. With a few exceptions, criminal laws are state laws. This is according to the U. S. Constitution. The federal govt. has no right to sign away state laws to foreign countries. The President has no say in this. The Supreme Court does. The Supreme Court spoke. When one runs for governor one knows this is part of the job. Gov. Perry did his job. I am a Texas Democrat but I will not fault the choice he made. I am glad I was not the one who had to make the decision.

[lexsird]

10:40 PM on 07/10/2011

The guy did it in 1994 and has been through the appeals process, if the Mexican government was going to add to his defense it would have been in the SEVENTEEN YEARS this has taken to get to justice. You and these other fools act as if they arrested him and ran him to the nearest tree to hang him. This is where the "touchy-feelly lets-all-hug" estrogen based emotional reasoning falls off the logic wagon. This was an animal, that was given all the luxuries of a proper legal system, was found guilty beyond a shadow of a doubt, and dealt with in a humane way. Kudos to Texas for properly dealing with two legged vermin in a manner appropriate to the crime.

[Razpooten]

10:13 PM on 09/02/2011

Try to remember that when a US citz is prosecuted in a foreign country.

[retromega]

10:33 PM on 07/10/2011

Texas may act tough but they have just created a magnificent hide out for anyone who commits a crime in Texas. All they have to do is make it to Mexico where they will now be immune from extradition. But these clowns don't really care anyway; they are just grandstanding.

Now the politicos in Mexico have raised the prices for the services they provide to the American governments at the very least.

[jweider]

10:24 PM on 07/10/2011

Obama is mad because Texas executed one of his potential DREAMers.

[Zork4]

12:23 PM on 07/13/2011

The first qualification for the DREAM act is to be of good moral character so your post is stupid.

[jweider]

08:57 PM on 07/13/2011

If any of them were of good moral character they wouldn't be in a foreign country breaking laws every single day.

[Razpooten]

10:16 PM on 09/02/2011

Your post is more than stupid, jw, the US signed an international agreement ang it reneged on it. That makes the US less-than honest and it means that US citz prosecuted in a foreign country are toast.

[Killjoy]

10:14 PM on 07/10/2011

I won't lose spleep over it , I tell you that much.

[Razpooten]

10:18 PM on 09/02/2011

I guess you missed the gist of the story: the US reneged on its word. The US signed an agreement and now it has no credibility.

[Sibil]

10:11 PM on 07/10/2011

Good Riddance.

Go back to busting pot users, Obama....

[Moderate Independent]

10:04 PM on 07/10/2011

This monster has been in the US since he was a toddler. He is hardly a Mexican national. Contacting the Mexican authorities? The lawyers who thought up this scheme should be ashamed of themselves. He knows the laws of this land. What he did was heinous and he got what he deserved. Good riddance.

And once again, Obama is on the wrong side of an issue. He is too moderate and too much of a hawk for the progressives, and he is too liberal on social issues for conservatives. He is like a kid who took two dates to the prom-and he just can't dance fast enough to woo them both..

[jweider]

10:36 PM on 07/10/2011

It's interesting how they come to this country, have babies, and claim that the baby is a US citizen because according to the 14th Amendment they are on US soil and under the "jurisdiction" of the US government.
But as soon as they get in trouble they want to call in their consulate because they are under the jurisdiction of their own government.
Too bad he blew his chance. He could have been one of Obama's amnesty recipients.

[Razpooten]

10:20 PM on 09/02/2011

Which part of "The U.S. is party to a U.N. treaty granting the right of consular assistance to all foreigners charged with a crime." didn't you get, jw?

[balmora]

09:36 PM on 07/10/2011

Lesson of the day: If you're gonna commit a heinous murder, go do it in one of those little wussy states that don't believe in capital punishment.

[highflag]

09:27 PM on 07/10/2011

Another outrageous illustration of the politicization of the Supreme Court.

The actions of the State of Texas and their enlightened governor, Rick Perry was to be expected. They would never betray their neanderthal roots by doing the right thing. Given the choice of dealing an immediate death, or waiting until diplomatic considerations are met, they can always be counted on to opt for the least reasonable choice.

But the Supreme Court, were they truly an impartial arbiter of legal disputes, would have surely considered that a brief delay would have been warranted.

Let's be clear, no one is suggesting that the man was treated unjustly by the court. But the United States, along with most civilized countries, signed a treaty which states that foreigners, when accused of serious crimes committed in countries other than their own, are entitled to assistance from their home embassies. This defendant was not afforded such aid.

How could it possibly harm anyone by granting a brief stay of execution in order to satisfy the agreement? On the other hand, by failing to do so, any future American who might find themselves afoul of the law while abroad, could rightfully be denied the same consideration.

We flaunt our arrogance in relation to this pact, just as we have done with the Geneva Convention. Eventually our citizens or soldiers will pay the dreadful price for the careless behavior of politicians.

[RobD407]

10:12 PM on 07/10/2011

"They would never betray their neandertha­l roots by doing the right thing"

Ah, you might have something there, I was wondering why Democratic Governor Ann Richards and the Clinton administration didn't bother to observe our international treaty obligations after he was arrested in 1994. Was that why those Democrats were so heartless? They're Neanderthals?

According to an earlier poster the US never ratified the treaty, if it was never ratified we are not obligated to honor it.

http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/3ae6b3648.html

[thudpucker]

11:07 PM on 07/12/2011

That is correct. The stay was being used to get congress to finally deal with it. Interesting point made is states she have some choices to comply or not. Justice department web site has good info on it,

[wraythe]

12:34 PM on 07/11/2011

The real point here is that after 17 years of three rounds of endless appeals and a run at the Supreme Court, his time ran out. You asked for "a brief stay of execution". They agreed to wait for the ruling by the Spreme Court. Then after the Supreme Court ruled, they went ahead. Texas acted neither like "Neandertha­ls" nor did they act precipitiously. They followed the rule of law. You might not like it. I might not like it. But, in this case, Texas was right. At some point, something like this runs its course. The only alternative was for Texas to wait and see if the Senate would confirm a treaty that they have not confirmed in years already and have no plans to consider. People forget what this guy did. Adria Sauceda was killed in 1994 in a gruesome attack in which her head was bashed with a 30- to 40-pound piece of asphalt and she was raped, strangled, bit and then left nude on a dirt road with a piece of wood stuck in her vagina where she bleed to death. The reality is that to stay the execution any longer after 17 years of appeals would have been the irresponsible choice.

[highflag]

02:27 PM on 07/12/2011

Apparently you missed my original observation that , surprise,surprise! the 5-4 SC decision was the culprit. Once again the Court splits along strict ideological lines.

I specifically included the paragraph dealing with guilt or innocence, or the nature of the crime, because I knew I could count on at least one impassioned note as to the heinousness. Because I support teen-age rapists/killers. Thanks for not disappointing.

As far as Texas and their barbaric use of the death penalty, since 1982 they have executed 471 individuals, nearly five times as many as the next closes state. It could be argued, I suppose, that being the second-largest population might explain these numbers. California, which is the largest, has executed all of 13...

So yes, while you Texans take pride in your "don't mess with Texas" attitude, and continue to kill inmates at breakneck pace, I'll preserve my opinion that the blood-lust which obviously drives your policy towards capital punishment is barbaric.

I'd ask Cameron Todd Willingham his opinion, except that he's dead...and innocent. Congratulations, Texas