Humberto Leal Garcia
Encyclopedia
Humberto Leal García, Jr. (January 16, 1973 – July 7, 2011) was a Mexican inmate on death row in the U.S. state of Texas for the May 21, 1994, rape, torture, and murder of Adria Sauceda in San Antonio. Despite calls from U.S. President Barack Obama
, the U.S. State Department
and Mexico on Texas for a last-minute reprieve, Leal was executed by lethal injection
as scheduled on July 7, 2011.
, Nuevo León
, Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was two years old. He suffered from brain damage and was sexually abused by a priest as a child.
On May 21, 1994, Leal kidnapped, raped, and murdered 16-year-old Adria Sauceda. The girl had been at a party and become intoxicated, and a group of men gang-raped her. Leal is said to have offered to drive her home, and the two struggled when Sauceda tried to get out of the car a little distance away from the party. Official court documents state "There was a 30- to 40-pound asphalt rock roughly twice the size of the victim's skull lying partially on the victim's left arm; Blood was underneath this rock. A smaller rock with blood on it was located near the victim's right thigh.” There was also a stick 15 inches (38.1 cm) in length extending out of her vagina
, with a screw at the end. Leal claimed that she fell and hit her head. No one was charged in the gang rape.
As Texas law
does not allow the death penalty for murder alone if the victim is over age five, prosecutors had to prove, in order for Leal to be sentenced to death, not only that he had killed Adria Sauceda, but that the murder was committed in the course of another felony offense—in this case, rape and kidnapping. Leal's lawyers criticized the lack of DNA evidence supporting the sexual assault charges.
Defenders of Leal stated that the original case relied partly on controversial and flawed methods such as bite mark analysis and the use of luminol to detect blood.
While on death row, he was originally held at the Ellis Unit
. From 1999 to 2000 the death row was moved to the Polunsky Unit
. He had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Death Row ID# 999162.
had already upheld the sentence in February of that year, but international law had not been considered in the ruling.
A 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice
(in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America)) found that he and about 50 other Mexican nationals condemned to execution in the United States had been denied their right under the Vienna Convention
to be told that they may contact their consular officials. A 2008 Supreme Court
decision declared the international court's decision binding, but said that it was necessary that Congress pass a law obliging states to comply.
As the date scheduled for Leal's execution approached, the Obama administration made a number of comments concerning the execution, saying that it would cause "irreparable harm" to US interests abroad, including the demonstration of "respect for the international rule of law," and "have serious repercussions for United States foreign relations, law-enforcement and other co-operation with Mexico, and the ability of American citizens traveling abroad to have the benefits of consular assistance in the event of detention."
and guisada tacos.
On July 8, a spokesman for Texas governor Rick Perry
stated "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws." Arturo Sarukhan
, Mexico's ambassador to the United States, said that "the government of Mexico has never called into question the heinous nature of the crimes attributed to Mr. Leal and in no way condones violent crime," but condemned the execution; Sarukhan had earlier tried to contact Perry, who would not take his call.
Euna Lee
, an American journalist who was arrested in North Korea in 2009, criticized the United States' failure to comply with the Vienna Convention, saying that she believed "prompt consular access" protected her from physical mistreatment while a prisoner, and that the decision in the Leal case would encourage foreign governments to violate the rights of American citizens abroad.
Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Leal's execution undermined "the role of the International Court of Justice, and its ramifications [were] likely to spread far beyond Texas."
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, the U.S. State Department
United States Department of State
The United States Department of State , is the United States federal executive department responsible for international relations of the United States, equivalent to the foreign ministries of other countries...
and Mexico on Texas for a last-minute reprieve, Leal was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
as scheduled on July 7, 2011.
Early life and crime
Leal, a mechanic, was born in MonterreyMonterrey
Monterrey , is the capital city of the northeastern state of Nuevo León in the country of Mexico. The city is anchor to the third-largest metropolitan area in Mexico and is ranked as the ninth-largest city in the nation. Monterrey serves as a commercial center in the north of the country and is the...
, Nuevo León
Nuevo León
Nuevo León It is located in Northeastern Mexico. It is bordered by the states of Tamaulipas to the north and east, San Luis Potosí to the south, and Coahuila to the west. To the north, Nuevo León has a 15 kilometer stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border adjacent to the U.S...
, Mexico, and moved to the United States when he was two years old. He suffered from brain damage and was sexually abused by a priest as a child.
On May 21, 1994, Leal kidnapped, raped, and murdered 16-year-old Adria Sauceda. The girl had been at a party and become intoxicated, and a group of men gang-raped her. Leal is said to have offered to drive her home, and the two struggled when Sauceda tried to get out of the car a little distance away from the party. Official court documents state "There was a 30- to 40-pound asphalt rock roughly twice the size of the victim's skull lying partially on the victim's left arm; Blood was underneath this rock. A smaller rock with blood on it was located near the victim's right thigh.” There was also a stick 15 inches (38.1 cm) in length extending out of her vagina
Vagina
The vagina is a fibromuscular tubular tract leading from the uterus to the exterior of the body in female placental mammals and marsupials, or to the cloaca in female birds, monotremes, and some reptiles. Female insects and other invertebrates also have a vagina, which is the terminal part of the...
, with a screw at the end. Leal claimed that she fell and hit her head. No one was charged in the gang rape.
Case and trial
Leal was never informed that, as a Mexican national, he was entitled to assistance from the Mexican consul. However, at the time of his arrest he did not reveal his Mexican citizenship, and the issue of consular access was not raised during the trial. Critics of the decision to execute him said that he incriminated himself, which a better lawyer might have advised him not to do, and that he had other legal difficulties, including the court-appointed lawyer's failure to challenge questionable evidence. The jury convicted him after 45 minutes of deliberation. Texas maintained that he confessed before his arrest and so a change of legal counsel or strategy would have made no difference.As Texas law
Capital punishment in Texas
Capital punishment has been used in the U.S. state of Texas and its predecessor entities since 1819.As of 16 November 2011, 1,228 individuals have been executed. Only Virginia has executed more individuals overall; however, since the death penalty was re-instituted in the United States in the...
does not allow the death penalty for murder alone if the victim is over age five, prosecutors had to prove, in order for Leal to be sentenced to death, not only that he had killed Adria Sauceda, but that the murder was committed in the course of another felony offense—in this case, rape and kidnapping. Leal's lawyers criticized the lack of DNA evidence supporting the sexual assault charges.
Defenders of Leal stated that the original case relied partly on controversial and flawed methods such as bite mark analysis and the use of luminol to detect blood.
While on death row, he was originally held at the Ellis Unit
Ellis Unit
O. B. Ellis Unit is a Texas Department of Criminal Justice prison located in unincorporated Walker County, Texas, north of Huntsville. The unit, with about of space, now houses up to 2,400 male prisoners. Ellis is situated in a wooded area shared with the Estelle Unit, which is located away...
. From 1999 to 2000 the death row was moved to the Polunsky Unit
Polunsky Unit
Allan B. Polunsky Unit is a prison in West Livingston, unincorporated Polk County, Texas, located approximately southwest of Livingston along Farm to Market Road 350. The Texas Department of Criminal Justice operates the facility. The unit houses the State of Texas death row, and it has a maximum...
. He had the Texas Department of Criminal Justice
Texas Department of Criminal Justice
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice is a department of the government of the state of Texas. The TDCJ is responsible for statewide criminal justice for adult offenders, including managing offenders in state prisons, state jails and private correctional facilities, funding and certain...
Death Row ID# 999162.
Legal controversy
The failure to inform Leal of his rights created legal controversy. In 1998, he appealed his death sentence on the grounds that police had not informed him that he could call the Mexican consulate. The Texas Court of Criminal AppealsTexas Court of Criminal Appeals
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals is the court of last resort for all criminal matters in the State of Texas, United States. The Court, which is based in the Supreme Court Building in Downtown Austin, is composed of a Presiding Judge and eight judges....
had already upheld the sentence in February of that year, but international law had not been considered in the ruling.
A 2004 ruling by the International Court of Justice
International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
(in Avena and Other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States of America)) found that he and about 50 other Mexican nationals condemned to execution in the United States had been denied their right under the Vienna Convention
Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963 is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between independent countries...
to be told that they may contact their consular officials. A 2008 Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
decision declared the international court's decision binding, but said that it was necessary that Congress pass a law obliging states to comply.
As the date scheduled for Leal's execution approached, the Obama administration made a number of comments concerning the execution, saying that it would cause "irreparable harm" to US interests abroad, including the demonstration of "respect for the international rule of law," and "have serious repercussions for United States foreign relations, law-enforcement and other co-operation with Mexico, and the ability of American citizens traveling abroad to have the benefits of consular assistance in the event of detention."
Supreme Court case
The administration submitted a 30-page brief to the Supreme Court asking them to stay Leal's execution while Congress considered legislation relating to the right of foreign nationals on death row to contact their consulate for legal aid. On July 7, 2011, the court ruled 5–4 that Congress had had adequate time to do so, and wrote in an unsigned majority opinion that it would not "prohibit a state from carrying out a lawful judgment in light of unenacted legislation." Justice Stephen G. Breyer, in his dissent, which the other three dissenting justices joined, wrote that the execution would damage American foreign policy interests and that the court should defer to the executive branch's traditional prerogative with regard to foreign relations.Execution and reactions
After 16 years of appeals, Leal was executed by lethal injection at 6:21 pm C.S.T. on July 7, 2011. He admitted responsibility for the crime and said he was sorry, and his final words included "Viva México". Leal's last meal consisted of fried chicken, pico de galloPico de gallo
In Mexican cuisine, pico de gallo , also called salsa fresca, is a fresh, uncooked condiment made from chopped tomato, white onion, and chilis...
and guisada tacos.
On July 8, a spokesman for Texas governor Rick Perry
Rick Perry
James Richard "Rick" Perry is the 47th and current Governor of Texas. A Republican, Perry was elected Lieutenant Governor of Texas in 1998 and assumed the governorship in December 2000 when then-governor George W. Bush resigned to become President of the United States. Perry was elected to full...
stated "If you commit the most heinous of crimes in Texas, you can expect to face the ultimate penalty under our laws." Arturo Sarukhan
Arturo Sarukhán
Arturo Sarukhan Casamitjana is a Mexican diplomat. He is the current Ambassador of Mexico to the United States, a former Consul General at New York City, and served as foreign policy coordinator in Felipe Calderón's presidential campaign and transition team .His grandfather, Artur Sarukhanian, was...
, Mexico's ambassador to the United States, said that "the government of Mexico has never called into question the heinous nature of the crimes attributed to Mr. Leal and in no way condones violent crime," but condemned the execution; Sarukhan had earlier tried to contact Perry, who would not take his call.
Euna Lee
Euna Lee
Euna Lee is a South Korean-born American journalist who has worked for Current TV since 2005. Lee and fellow journalist Laura Ling were detained in North Korea after they crossed into the Democratic People's Republic of Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa...
, an American journalist who was arrested in North Korea in 2009, criticized the United States' failure to comply with the Vienna Convention, saying that she believed "prompt consular access" protected her from physical mistreatment while a prisoner, and that the decision in the Leal case would encourage foreign governments to violate the rights of American citizens abroad.
Navi Pillay, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, said that Leal's execution undermined "the role of the International Court of Justice, and its ramifications [were] likely to spread far beyond Texas."