UN: Texas execution broke international law

[sinkingfeeling]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/43685778/ns/us_news-crime_and_courts/

GENEVA — A top United Nations' rights official said the United States was in breach of international law over the execution of a 38-year-old Mexican citizen in Texas.

..U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said Friday the Texas execution of Humberto Garcia Leal "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 — but, she said, that never happened.

The Obama administration warned that executing Leal would violate the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations and leave U.S. citizens traveling abroad at higher risk of arrest without cause or denial of diplomatic representation.

Mexico strongly condemned the execution, lodged an official protest with the U.S. State Department and sent letters to Texas Governor Rick Perry "underscoring the importance of fulfilling the international obligations," according to a press release from the Mexican Foreign Ministry.