UN: U.S. Execution of Mexican Citizen Was Illegal

The Associated Press reports:

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.