Texas Is Pressed to Spare Mexican Citizen on Death Row

[alp227]

Source: The New York Times

WASHINGTON — Texas is planning to execute Humberto Leal Garcia Jr. next week. His case is in many ways unexceptional: ghastly crime, substantial but problematic evidence, inept defense lawyer.

In another sense, though, Mr. Leal’s case is different from those of the six men Texas has already put to death this year.

He is a citizen of Mexico. After his arrest, he was denied his rights under the Vienna Convention to consult Mexican consular officials.

Had his government been allowed to come to his aid, Mr. Leal’s lawyers say, he might still have been convicted. But they say that legal help from the Mexican government would almost certainly have kept him off death row.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/us/28bar.html

[Uncle Joe]

1. The death penalty should be abolished regardless, there is simply no way to

make it full-proof, because people; aren't perfect thus capital punishment can't be perfect and the state will undoubtedly execute innocent people and I dare say none of those innocent people will come from the wealthy and powerful class.

Thanks for the thread, alp.

[John Paul Jones]

2. I oppose the death penalty, but Garcia should not be treated differently than anyone else from Texas

[alcibiades_mystery]

3. Jesus...simply getting sent to a mexican prison is like a death penalty

They got more killings in a year than all the US death rows combined.

[WatsonT]

4. So they want to be treated no different from Americans . . . until it's to their benefit