High court, governor review requests to halt execution

Breard

Albright seeks stay for Paraguayan; Justice Department wants sentence carried out

April 13, 1998
Web posted at: 10:46 p.m. EDT (0246 GMT)

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The U.S. Supreme Court is expected to rule Tuesday whether to block the execution of a Paraguayan national whose murder conviction has drawn international attention and created a high-level split between two federal agencies.

On Monday, U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright asked Virginia Gov. James Gilmore to stay Tuesday's execution, saying she was concerned about the "potential harm to Americans abroad."

But the Justice Department, in a 52-page brief filed Monday, urged the Supreme Court to let Virginia execute Angel Francisco Breard.

A spokesman for the governor, Mark Miner, said Gilmore was reviewing Albright's request but would wait to see how the Supreme Court rules in the case.

Violation of international law at issue

The differences between the two federal departments stem from a request by the World Court at The Hague to postpone the execution because Breard was not allowed to consult with the Paraguayan embassy after he was arrested -- a violation of international law.

The Vienna Convention guarantees that persons accused in other countries have access to diplomats from their country of citizenship.

Breard was convicted of the 1992 attempted rape and stabbing death of Ruth Dickie in her Arlington, Virginia, apartment. He rejected a plea agreement that would have resulted in life imprisonment. He admitted his guilt at trial, saying he had acted under a satanic curse.

In a two-page letter to Gilmore, Albright said she was making the request "with great reluctance" because of the "aggravated" nature of the crime and because of the lateness of the appeal.

But Albright wrote there are "unique" international policy reasons for staying the execution, mainly the need to protect the rights of U.S. citizens detained abroad to have access to U.S. diplomats. That access is called "consular access."

"I am particularly concerned about the possible negative consequences for the many U.S. citizens who live and travel abroad," Albright wrote. The immediate execution of Breard could be seen as a denial by the United States of international law and the World Court, she said.

But the Justice Department, in its Supreme Court brief, argued that "there is no basis for concluding that the assistance of a consular officer would have changed the outcome of the criminal proceedings."

Paraguay seeks to intervene

Breard and the government of Paraguay have asked the Supreme Court to delay the execution until their formal appeals can be considered.

Lower courts have rejected Paraguay's attempts to intervene in Breard's case. The country filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in 1996, seeking to have Breard's conviction and death sentence thrown out because he was never told that he had the right to contact the Paraguayan consulate.

Two treaties provide that right, the Vienna Convention and the Friendship, Commerce and Navigation Treaty of 1859, the lawsuit said.

The World Court said Breard's case violated a treaty with Paraguay because that country's consulate was not notified.

Lawyers for Breard say he might have accepted the plea agreement if he had consulted with Paraguayan officials. But Virginia prosecutors say Breard should have raised the issue in his appeals to Virginia state courts.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related sites:

Note: Pages will open in a new browser window

• Paraguay v. United States of America
• United States of America - Angel Francisco Breard : Facing Death in a Foreign Land

External sites are not endorsed by CNN Interactive.

---

 

---

Sound off on our message boards & chat

© 1998 Cable News Network, Inc.
A Time Warner Company
All Rights Reserved.

Terms under which this service is provided to you.
Read our privacy guidelines.