July 6, 2011

In a Death Penalty Case, Texas Battles Mexico, Washington (and the World)

By David Paulin
Humberto Leal Garcia Jr., a 38-year-old Mexican national, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on Thursday, July 7, in the Texas death chamber.  He was convicted for the 1994 rape and murder of 16-year-old Adria Sauceda in San Antonio, Texas -- a crime that was particularly sordid as far as rapes and murders go. Leal, however, isn't your typical death row inmate found guilty of an unspeakable crime.  He has friends and supporters, mostly liberals: anti-death penalty advocates, law professors, and myriad others with various agendas.  All have an international outlook -- and misplaced confidence in the efficacy of international law.  One of them is President Obama. Leal is now the object of a tug-of-war: Gov. Rick Perry and his Republican administration are on one side -- and on the other are Mexico's government, President Obama, and the International Court of Justice in The Hague.  With the clock ticking down on Leal's life, this is a standoff between what...(Read Full Article)