[헌츠빌, 텍사스=AP/KNS뉴스통신] 1994년에 발생한 한 16세 소녀의 강간 살해범에 대한 텍사스 주의 사형집행을 둘러싼 논란에 백악관이 개입하면서 미국 내 외국인 체포와 해외의 미국인 체포에 관련된 법적 대응에 새로운 해석을 하도록 하고 있다.
38세인 사형수 움베르토 릴은 6일 국제조약에 의해 피고인이 체포될 당시 멕시코 정부의 사법지원을 받을 수 있는 권리를 박탈당한 사실을 주장하면서 미국 대법원에 사형집행연기를 신청했다.
오바마 행정부는 외국인이 미국 내에서 체포되었을 경우 자국 영사의 지원을 받지 못했을 때 판결에 미치는 영향에 대비해서 제출된 법안에 대해 미 의회의 심의를 촉구하면서 사형집행 6개월 연기를 대법원에 제기하고 있다.
하급 법원에서 이미 반송된 이 사건에 대해 텍사스 검찰당국은 의회에 제출된 법안과 이 사건은 관련이 없다는 입장이며 의회에서도 가까운 장래에 통과될지는 의문시 되고 있다.
국제법상의 외국인 보호조치는 새로운 논란이 아닌 가운데, 미 대법원은 2005년 현재 미국 내에 수감 중인 50명의 멕시코 인들이 재판 과정에서 자국 영사의 적법한 도움을 받았는지를 심사하도록 요청한 국제사법재판소의 요구를 부시행정부가 수용하면서 제출한 소청을 기각한바 있다.
(영문기사 원문)
Mexican national hoping to delay Texas execution
HUNTSVILLE, Texas (AP) — The 1994 rape and murder of 16-year-old Adria Sauceda was so brutal it shocked even prosecutors in Texas, where capital punishment is popular and put to use more than any other state.
But the planned Thursday execution of 38-year-old Humberto Leal, who is a Mexican citizen, has prompted a flurry of appeals on his behalf, including an unusual plea from the White House, because of what it could mean for other foreign nationals arrested in the U.S. and for Americans arrested abroad.
Leal, who moved to the U.S. as a toddler, had an appeal pending before the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking to delay his execution so a thorough review of his case can be conducted. The appeal, which was joined by the Mexican government, contends that authorities never told Leal after his arrest that under an international treaty he could seek legal assistance from the Mexican government, and that such assistance would have aided his defense.
The Obama administration took the unusual step of intervening in a state murder case last week, when it asked the Supreme Court to delay Leal's execution for up to six months to give Congress time to consider legislation that would allow federal courts to review cases of condemned foreign nationals to determine if the lack of consular help made a significant difference in the outcome of their cases.
The legislation, backed by the State Department and the United Nations, would bring the U.S. into compliance with the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provision regarding the arrest of foreign nationals.
Lower courts already rejected the pleas, agreeing with the Texas Attorney General's office that since the legislation hasn't been signed into law, it doesn't apply to Leal's case. At least two measures like it have failed to pass Congress in recent sessions.
Arturo Sarukhan, Mexico's ambassador to the U.S., wrote numerous congressional members and Texas officials calling attention to the legislation and the case.
The question of protection for foreign nationals under the international treaty is not new.
President George W. Bush in 2005 agreed with an International Court of Justice ruling that Leal and 50 other Mexican-born inmates nationwide should be entitled to new hearings in U.S. courts to determine if their consular rights were violated at the time of their arrests. The Supreme Court subsequently overruled Bush, negating the decision from the Netherlands-based court.
Leal's execution would be the seventh this year in Texas where he's among at least nine inmates with execution dates over the next 12 weeks.
김희광 기자 april4241@naver.com
