Le sort d'un condamné à mort repose entre les mains de Rick Perry le gouverneur du Texas qui songe à se présenter pour la présidentielle 2012. Sa décision pourrait avoir des retombées sur la scène internationale puisque, techniquement, le détenu dont il pourrait reporter l'exécution est mexicain...
"Mr. Leal was arrested in 1994. He was convicted of the rape and murder of a 16 year-old girl. His defenders say this was a miscarriage of justice. They observe that the prosecution used now largely discredited forensic methods. They further claim that he is mentally disabled, had no prior criminal record, and was represented by seemingly incompetent lawyers.
So far there's nothing here to lift this to international attention. And yet, in recent days calls for Gov. Perry to delay the execution have come from U.N. officials as high up as Navi Pillay, the world body's highest defender of human rights. Indeed, the Obama administration has even weighed in, saying the decision to execute Mr. Leal would cause "serious repercussions" and even "irreparable harm" to US foreign relations.
There is one detail in the case that elevates it to this level: Mr. Leal was born in Mexico. His family moved to the States when he was two. Though he graduated from a San Antonio high school, he never obtained citizenship. Consequently, though raised in Texas, he is still officially a citizen of Mexico.
This means, technically, that when he was arrested and his circumstances became apparent, he should have been told that he could seek help from the Mexican consulate in the US. The right to consular assistance for foreign nationals charged in another country is enshrined in a treaty the U.S. signed in 1969.
Mr. Leal's defenders say had he known this before the trial then consular officials might have secured him more competent attorneys, who could have swung the case the other way."
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2011/07/will-rick-perry-defy-international-law-again.php?ref=fpa
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