Texas ignores U.S. protests; Killer of San Antonio teen executed

By Brandon Scott - ItemOnline.com

Jul 08, 2011

HUNTSVILLE — Despite warnings from the U.S. government, Texas put to death Mexican national Humberto Leal on Thursday for the 1994 abduction, rape and murder of 16-year-old Adria Saveda of San Antonio.

Leal, an illegal alien who moved to the U.S. as a young child, was denied legal assistance through the Mexican consulate, an issue that incited challenges to his execution and a flurry of requests for a delay. The Obama administration had asked the Supreme Court for a stay, expressing concern for Americans accused of crimes while traveling outside the country, according to the Associated Press.

Preston Parsley, who traveled to Huntsville from San Antonio to protest Thursday's execution, said he wanted to express his opposition to what he believes is an unjust practice by the state. ”Proper procedures weren't followed,” he said. “This put citizens abroad at risk.”

Antonia Mendoza of Houston, who identified herself as Leal's “second aunt,” spent time Thursday evening outside the Huntsville “Walls” Unit — where the death house is located — comforting Leal's mother, Francisca Leal. ”I’m sad at what she must be going through," Mendoza said. “(Humberto) and I haven't been close. We keep in touch since all this through the news and TV."

Leal's uncle Jaime Sanchez, also from Houston, spoke to The Item through a translator. Sanchez said he felt sad and hoped the U.S. Supreme Court would grant his nephew a last-minute stay of execution. I hope they cancel it,” he said while gathered with family on the grounds of the Walls Unit before the execution was carried out. “I hope they give more of a chance to look at the evidence and revise the investigation. They're going to make an error if they execute.”

But Leal was remorseful leading up to his death. Lying strapped to a gurney in the death house, he apologized for his actions and said he wanted Christ in his life. “I’ve hurt a lot of people,” Leal said. “I know Christ has forgiven me, and I accept his forgiveness. I am sorry for the victim’s family for what I did. May they forgive me. Let’s get this show on the road, Warden.” Leal still had one last statement to make before he died, much to the delight of his sister Mary Angel Tello, who wept during the entire process, eventually vomiting while inside the Walls Unit. “Viva Mexico,” Leal said before taking his last breath, and then he shouted, “Viva Mexico.”

Last week, the Obama administration asked the Supreme Court to delay Leal’s execution for up to six months to give Congress time to consider the newly proposed Consular Notification Compliance Act, which would allow federal courts to review cases of foreign offenders to help determine if the lack of consular help makes a difference in the outcome of their cases, the AP reported. This legislation would bring the U.S. into compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations regarding the arrest of foreign nationals. Congress has twice failed to pass similar legislation.

In a 2004 ruling, the International Court of Justice suggested reviewing these cases as a remedy to its finding that the U.S. had violated the Vienna Convention by not allowing 51 Mexican nationals, including Leal, to request help from their consulate when they were arrested.

Leal’s defense attorneys told the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles earlier this week that Mexico’s assistance came after it was too late to affect the outcome of Leal’s trial. Two inmates in other states have been moved off death row as a result of the ruling, one in Oklahoma and one in Arkansas, according to public records.

The state, however, argued that the evidence, particularly his own statements and those of his brother, convincingly showed Leal's guilt, Leal’s victim, Saveda, was abducted after attending a party by Leal. Authorities found her nude body near a creek. She had been sodomized with a piece of lumber and her head had been crushed by a 35-pound piece of asphalt. When police arrested Leal, he bore cuts and scratches on his face and body. Evidence also included Saveda’s bloody blouse, found at Leal’s residence.

Seven more executions are scheduled in Texas this year, including four in September within an eight-day time span.

U.N. official says the U.S. was in breach of international law

DailyMail.co.uk

8th July 2011

Executed: Humberto Leal Garcia lost his appeal against execution amid claims he was denied his rights under the Vienna Convention A United Nations official said that the U.S. was in breach of international law when they put Humberto Leal Garcia to death in a prison in Texas last night. The 38-year-old Mexican citizen was executed by lethal injection for raping and bludgeoning Adria Sauceda, 16, to death with a 40-pound chunk of asphalt.

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Leal's execution 'raises particular legal concerns', including whether he had access to consular services and a fair trial. Pillay also cited a 2004 International Court of Justice ruling saying the U.S. must review and reconsider the cases of 51 Mexican nationals sentenced to death, including Leal's. He claims this never happened. In his last statement before he died, Leal apologized to the victim's family and asked for their forgiveness, according to MSNBC.

He said: 'I truly am sorry. That is all. Let's get this show on the road. 'One more thing: Viva Mexico, Viva Mexico'

Texas executed Leal despite objections from President Obama's administration that the action would violate international treaty obligations and put U.S. citizens abroad at risk. The high court's 5-4 decision was a setback for the administration.

While there were few who doubted his guilt, Garcia's lawyers said he was not given the chance to contact the Mexican consul which was his right under The Vienna Convention. The White House also fear that his execution could affect U.S. diplomatic interests.

Governor of Texas, Rick Perry, had already rejected appeals to stop the execution from former president George W Bush as well as diplomats, judges, senior military officers and the United Nations. Before the Supreme Court ruling came through a spokesman said the governor had no plans to halt the execution and the Texas Attorney General's office has urged the Supreme Court not to intervene. Leal made the 45-mile trip to the Huntsville Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice from death row at the Polunsky Unit, just outside Livingston.

Appeal: The Obama administration was keen to stop the execution believing it could be detrimental to international relations and affect the treatment of Americans arrested abroad

Prison officials described him as calm. Leal's final meal request included fried chicken, tacos, fried okra and a bowl of pico de gallo. He selected a sister, one of his attorneys and three friends to witness his lethal injection. Also scheduled to witness are two friends of the father of his victim, 16-year-old Adria Sauceda of San Antonio.

Leal was convicted in 1994 of raping the girl before bludgeoning her to death with a '30 to 40-pound' piece of asphalt rock 'roughly twice the size of the victim's skull' in San Antonio Texas. 'There was a gaping hole from the corner of the victim's right eye extending to the centre of her head from which blood was oozing,' court documents read. 'The victim's head was splattered with blood.'

Texas authorities failed to tell Leal, who was born in Mexico and has lived in the U.S. since the age of two, that under the Vienna convention he was entitled to contact the Mexican consulate when he was arrested.

Texas Governor Rick Perry brushed aside appeals from the United Nations and top diplomats to stay Leah's execution Leal's lawyers argued that the lack of consular access played a role in the death penalty being applied because the Mexican national incriminated himself in statements made during 'non-custodial interviews' with the police on the day of the murder. Had Leal been given access to the Mexican consulate it would have been likely to have arranged a lawyer who would have advised the accused man to limit his statements to the police. As it was, the Mexican authorities were never informed of his arrest.

However Texas officials argue that Leal Garcia made statements to authorities before he was in custody and thus outside the purview of the Vienna Convention. State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said the federal government had filed a brief with the U.S. Supreme Court on July 1 supporting Humberto Leal Garcia's bid for a stay of execution until the end of this year.

The UN high commissioner for human rights, Navi Pillay, appealed to Perry to commute Leal's sentence to life imprisonment She said: 'This is to allow some consideration of the fact that Mr. Leal was not afforded a visit by Mexican consular officials at an appropriate moment in the trial proceeding - so to allow that to be taken into account.'

The Obama administration warned that allowing the execution to go forward could have serious repercussions on U.S. foreign relations and implications for Americans arrested abroad. In a letter dated June 28, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Attorney General Eric Holder wrote: 'The United States is best positioned to demand that foreign governments respect consular rights with respect to U.S. citizens abroad when we comply with these same obligations for foreign nationals in the United States.'

A 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice held that the United States must review Leal Garcia's conviction and sentence to remedy earlier instances in which the Vienna Convention had not been honored in U.S. criminal cases. The top U.N. human rights official last week urged Texas call off Leal Garcia's execution, as have dozens of former U.S. law enforcement officials and ex-diplomats who argue that it would put Americans at risk in prosecutions abroad.

Sandra Babcock, a Northwestern University Law School professor, has been hired by the Mexican government to represent Leal. She points to the fact that, three years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected a similar appeal by a Mexican national convicted in Texas who objected to the lack of consular consultation. She said: 'We have presented substantial evidence that in this case, the Vienna Convention really mattered. 'The fact is that, if Mr. Leal had received the consular assistance that he was entitled to, he never would have been convicted, let alone sentenced to death.' The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the state's highest criminal court, rejected Leal's request for a stay of execution. They claimed that Leal 'doesn't have a due process right to remain alive until the proposed legislation becomes law.'

Texas executes more criminals than any other state and that has long caused friction with Mexico, which has no death penalty. Although the U.S. government has signed the Vienna Convention, Congress has not passed a law to implement it.

U.S. seeks to limit damage of Texas execution case

Reuters.com

Jul 8, 2011

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. government is working to limit the diplomatic fallout after Texas executed a Mexican national over Washington's objections that it violated U.S. treaty obligations and put U.S. citizens abroad at risk.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton was "quite disappointed" on Thursday after Texas went ahead with the execution by injection of Humberto Leal Garcia, convicted of murdering a 16-year-old girl, despite pleas from the federal government for a last-minute stay, State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said. "It's important that our partners overseas know that the U.S. government, the executive branch, was not comfortable with what happened in this case," Nuland said.

"The secretary is making clear to her counterparts, whether they're in Mexico or anywhere else, that we seek to remedy this situation and we seek to remedy it as quickly as we possibly can," Nuland said at a news briefing. Nuland said the Obama administration would work with Congress to speed passage of legislation that would spell out the rights of foreigners to consular access.

The top U.N. official for human rights, Navi Pillay, issued a statement on Friday saying Leal Garcia's execution "places the U.S. in breach of international law." The U.S. Supreme Court rejected a stay of execution despite warnings from the Obama administration that the case violated the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations because Leal Garcia had not been given appropriate consular access.

In legal briefs, the U.S. government had warned the execution would create an irreparable breach of international law and Mexico's government said it would seriously jeopardize cross-border cooperation on joint ventures and extraditions. Leal Garcia, 38, who had lived in the United States since he was an infant, was convicted of raping the girl and bludgeoning her to death with a piece of asphalt in 1994.

While the United States has joined the Vienna Convention, critics have argued that individual U.S. states are not bound by it until Congress passes enabling legislation. Nuland said the State Department was concerned that the case might impact the welfare of U.S. citizens who run into legal problems overseas.

The State Department says some 5 million U.S. citizens live overseas and many millions more travel regularly outside of the country. About 3,500 Americans were arrested overseas in 2010 and U.S. consular officials conducted more than 9,500 prison visits. "Frankly, if we don't protect the rights of non-Americans in the United States we seriously risk reciprocal lack of access to our own citizens overseas," Nuland said. "Texas justice is Texas justice. This is simply about ensuring a non-American facing judicial proceedings in the United States has the same rights that we expect an American facing judicial proceedings overseas would have."

UN official: US execution of Leal broke int'l law

By John Halperin - MySanAntonio.com

Friday, July 8, 2011

GENEVA (AP) — The United States broke international law when it executed a Mexican citizen, the United Nations' top human rights official said Friday. The Texas execution of Humberto Leal "raises particular legal concerns," including whether he had access to consular services and a fair trial, said U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay.

Leal was executed Thursday evening for the 1994 rape and murder of a San Antonio teenager after his attorneys, supported also by the Mexican government and other diplomats, unsuccessfully sought a stay.

Mexico's government, President Barack Obama's administration and others wanted the U.S. Supreme Court to stay the execution to allow Congress time to consider legislation that would require court reviews for condemned foreign nationals who aren't offered the help of their consulates. The high court rejected the request 5-4.

Texas Gov. Rick Perry also declined to block the execution. Texas, the nation's most active death penalty state, has executed other condemned foreign nationals who raised similar challenges, most recently in 2008. "Texas is not bound by a foreign court's ruling. 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," said Katherine Cesinger, a spokeswoman for Perry.

But what Texas did also "places the U.S. in breach of international law," said Pillay, who visited Mexico this week. "What the state of Texas has done in this case is imputable in law to the U.S. and engages the United States' international responsibility." Pillay said Perry and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles each failed to exercise consular and fair-trial obligations — spelled out under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and an International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights — that could have prevented the U.S. from breaching its obligations under international law.

Pillay also cited a 2004 International Court of Justice ruling saying the U.S. must review and reconsider the cases of 51 Mexican nationals — including Leal — who were sentenced to death. She said those reviews never happened. She said the execution undermined "the role of the International Court of Justice, and its ramifications are likely to spread far beyond Texas."

Mexico's foreign ministry has said in a statement it condemns the execution of Leal and has sent a note of protest to the U.S. State Department. It said Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., Arturo Sarukhan, also attempted to contact Perry, who refused to speak on the phone.

Leal, a 38-year-old mechanic, repeatedly apologized and then shouted "Viva Mexico!" as the lethal drugs began taking effect Thursday. He was sentenced to death for killing 16-year-old Adria Sauceda, whose brutalized nude body was found hours after the two left a street party.

Texas governor defends Mexican's execution

By Michael Graczyk - MySanAntonio.com

Associated Press - Friday, July 8, 2011

HOUSTON (AP) — Gov. Rick Perry rebuffed criticism Friday from the United Nations and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton for Texas' execution of a Mexican man whose lawyers said he was not informed he could have sought legal help from the Mexican government after he was arrested for the murder of a San Antonio teenager. "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws," Perry's spokeswoman Katherine Cesinger said a day after convicted killer Humberto Leal was put to death in Huntsville.

In Geneva, the U.N.'s top human rights official said Leal's execution amounted to a breach of international law by the U.S.

The Texas governor has the authority in execution cases to issue a one-time 30-day reprieve, an authority Perry and other governors in the nation's most active capital punishment state rarely have invoked. "After reviewing the totality of the issues that led to Leal's conviction, as well as the numerous court rulings surrounding the case, including the most recent Supreme Court ruling on Thursday, Gov. Perry agreed that Leal was guilty of raping and bludgeoning a 16-year-old girl to death," Cesinger said.

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.

From the Texas death chamber Thursday evening, Leal, 38, took responsibility for the slaying, asked for forgiveness and wrapped up his comments by twice shouting: "Viva Mexico!" He was born in Monterrey, Mexico, and moved with his family to the U.S. when he was about 1½ years old.

Mexico's government, President Barack Obama's administration and the State Department were among those asking the Supreme Court to stop the execution of the former mechanic to allow Congress time to consider legislation that would require court reviews for condemned foreign nationals who weren't offered the help of their consulates. The high court rejected the request 5-4.

"The secretary herself is quite disappointed in the outcome in this case," Clinton's spokeswoman, Victoria Nuland, said Friday. "You know that the U.S. government sought a stay of Leal's execution in order to give the Congress time to act on the Consular Notification Compliance Act, which would have provided Leal the judicial review required by international law. "Frankly if we don't protect the rights of non-Americans in the United States, we seriously risk reciprocal lack of access to our own citizens overseas," Nuland said. "So this is why the secretary is concerned. ... We've got to treat non-Americans properly here if we expect to be able to help our citizens overseas."

U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the punishment "raises particular legal concerns," including whether Leal had access to consular services and a fair trial. Pillay also cited a 2004 International Court of Justice ruling saying the U.S. must review and reconsider the cases of 51 Mexican nationals sentenced to death, including Leal's. In 2005, President George W. Bush agreed with the ruling but the U.S. Supreme Court later overruled Bush.

"Texas is not bound by a foreign court's ruling," Cesinger said. "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."

In its ruling Thursday about an hour before Leal's execution, the Supreme Court's majority opinion pointed to the IJC decision, saying it's been seven years since then and three years since the previous Texas death penalty case that raised similar consular legal access issues. If a statute implementing the provisions of the international court ruling "had genuinely been a priority for the political branches, it would have been enacted by now," the majority ruling said.

Had the White House and dissenting justices been worried about "the grave international consequences that will follow from Leal's execution ... Congress evidently did not find these consequences sufficiently grave to prompt its enactment of implementing legislation, and we will follow the law as written by Congress," the ruling continued.

Leal's appeals lawyers had pinned their hopes on legislation introduced in the Senate last month that applied to the Vienna Convention provisions and said Leal should have a reprieve so the measure could make its way through the legislative process. Similar bills have failed twice in recent congressional sessions. "Our task is to rule on what the law is, not what it might eventually be," the court said.

Humberto Leal

ProDeathPenalty.com

The tragic final hours of sixteen-year-old Adrea Sauceda's life started at an outdoor party in San Antonio, Texas. A witness observed Adria, apparently intoxicated and partially undressed, in the middle of a circle of men who were taking turns "on top of her." Another witness testified that an unidentified male invited him to have intercourse with Adria. The same witness testified that he later observed another man carrying a disoriented Adria to a truck, where he "had his way with her."

Twenty-three-year-old Humberto Leal was also at the party. At some point the intoxicated but conscious victim was placed in Leal's car. Leal and Adria left together in Leal's car. About thirty minutes later, Leal's brother arrived at the party in a car which came to a screeching halt. Leal's brother was very excited or hysterical. Leal's brother started yelling to the people left at the party, "What the hell happened!" Leal's brother was yelling that Leal came home with blood on him saying he had killed a girl. Two of the trial witnesses were present when Leal's brother made these statements. Shortly thereafter Leal's brother left in a rush.

Several of the party members went looking for Adria in the same area where the party was. They found her nude body lying face-up on a dirt road. They noticed Adria's head had been bashed in and it was bleeding. Her head was flinching or jerking. These party members called the police. When the police arrived, they saw the nude victim lying on her back. There was a 30 to 40 pound asphalt rock roughly twice the size of Adria's skull lying partially on Adria's left arm. Blood was underneath this rock. A smaller rock with blood on it was located near Adria's right thigh. There was a gaping hole from the corner of Adria's right eye extending to the center of her head from which blood was oozing. Adria's head was splattered with blood. There was a bloody and broken stick approximately 14 to 16 inches long with a screw at the end of it protruding from Adria's vagina. Another 4 to 5 inch piece of the stick was lying to the left side of Adria's skull. The police made a videotape of the crime scene portions of which were admitted into evidence.

Later that day, the police questioned Leal. Leal gave two voluntary statements. In Leal's first statement he said he was with Adria in his car when she began hitting him and the steering wheel causing him to hit a curb. Leal attempted to calm her down but Adria leaped from Leal's car and ran away. Leal claimed he sat in his car and waited about ten or fifteen minutes to see if Adria would return and when she did not he went home.

After giving this statement, Leal was informed that his brother had also given a statement. Leal then gave another statement. In this statement, Leal claimed he followed Adria when she got out of his car and ran away. Leal claimed Adria attacked him. Leal pushed her and she fell to the ground. When she did not get up Leal attempted to wake her but could not. He then looked at her nose and saw bubbles. Leal stated he got scared, went home, prayed on the side of his mom's bed and told family members what had happened, claiming it was just an accident. After giving this statement an officer gave Leal a ride home.

The police searched Leal's house. The police seized a blouse which contained several blood stains, hair and fibers. This blouse was later identified as belonging to Adria. The police also seized Leal's clothing from the night before. Leal was arrested later that afternoon at his home. Leal's car was also impounded. The police conducted Luminol tests of the passenger door to determine whether any blood was evident. Blood stains were discovered on the passenger door and seat. Detectives testified that the blood stains were streaked in a downward motion, indicating that the blood had been wiped off. There was insufficient residue to conduct a blood typing of the stains on the vehicle. Other DNA evidence was found on the underwear Leal was wearing that night. That evidence consisted of blood as well as bodily fluid. The DNA test did not preclude Adria's blood type from the evidence tested.

Dr. DiMaio, the medical examiner who performed the autopsy, testified about Adria's injuries and cause of death. DiMaio testified that even though Adria was intoxicated when she received her injuries, she would have been aware of what was happening to her. In addition to Adria's massive head injuries, DiMaio testified about injuries Adria received to her chest and shoulder which were consistent with having been inflicted by the stick found in Adria's vagina. DiMaio also testified about the defensive wounds Adria received to her hands trying to protect herself from some object. DiMaio also testified Adria was alive when the stick was placed in her vagina. Adria's neck also contained injuries consistent with manual strangulation. DiMaio testified Adria received some of her injuries while standing up. Adria received her head injuries while lying flat. The injuries to Adria's head were due to blows from the front. These injuries were inconsistent with a fall. Adria's head injuries were consistent with Adria lying on the ground with somebody standing over her striking her. DiMaio testified the large rock could have delivered the injuries to Adria's head. Based on the injuries to Adria's head, DiMaio testified Adria would had to have been struck with the rock two or three times. DiMaio testified Adria died from blunt force trauma injuries to the head. DiMaio could not say for certain that the rock caused the injuries. He testified Adria was beaten about the face with a blunt object or more than one object which could have been the rock or something else.

On cross-examination, DiMaio testified that one blow from the rock could have caused Adria's death. DiMaio also testified about bite marks he found on Adria's left cheek, the right side of her neck and the left side of her chest. Another witness compared the bite marks on Adria's chest and neck with dental impressions of Leal's teeth. They matched. The State's indictment charged that Leal killed Sauceda while in the course of and attempting either to kidnap her or to commit aggravated sexual assault. Leal was convicted and, after a separate punishment phase, sentenced to death.