U.S. Breaks International Law By Executing Mexican National

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by SWTXBelle

Amanda Knox identified herself as an American. Hence she was offered consular access.

Garcia did NOT identify as a Mexican citizen, and we all know that it would be horribly racist to assume he was Mexican because of the way he looked. Laws which would require police to confirm citizenship are regularly denounced as racist, so there you go. Since he identified himself as an American citizen, he was not offered consular access.

He's been on Death Row since 1995, they knew he was a Mexican national for more than the past month or so. As moe.ron said, it would have been simple to go through the motions for the purposes of adhering to treaties that we would like other countries to follow with our citizens.
Source

...The International Court of Justice in 2004 found that he, along with 50 other inmates, hadn't been treated according to the Vienna Convention of Treaties because officials arresting them hadn't informed them of their right to contact their consulates.

The Obama administration filed a brief with the Supreme Court saying that honoring the Vienna Convention by staying the execution would serve U.S. interests as well as Leal's. "These interests include protecting Americans abroad, fostering cooperation with foreign nations, and demonstrating respect for the international rule of law," it wrote. But the question of just how much more danger American nationals traveling abroad might actually find them in today, as opposed to yesterday, remains open. As Lane points out, "Mr. Leal was not a tourist or the type of foreign national the consular treaty was arguably designed to protect. It remains to be seen whether foreign nations will accept this nicety."

Also, the article points out that it negatively affects our relationship with Mexico, something we do need/want, and is a bit of a stunt for the governor in case he decides to throw his had in the ring for 2012. Because we can't look ~soft~ on crime as a conservative.
/or we could stop executing people...