Governor, high court refuse to delay execution

Angel Francisco Breard

April 14, 1998
Web posted at: 10:49 p.m. EDT (0249 GMT)

RICHMOND, Virginia (CNN) -- Despite requests for a delay from Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and the World Court, Virginia Gov. Jim Gilmore refused Tuesday night to block the execution of a Paraguayan national convicted of murdering a Virginia woman.

Gilmore's refusal follows a 6-3 decision by the U.S. Supreme Court late Tuesday not to intervene in the case of Angel Francisco Breard, 32, who was scheduled to die by lethal injection Tuesday night for the 1992 murder and attempted rape of Ruth Dickie in Arlington.

The time of the execution, originally set for 9 p.m., was uncertain.

Last week, the World Court ruled the execution should be stayed because Virginia authorities did not notify Paraguay of Breard's arrest, as required by the Vienna Convention, an international treaty signed by 130 nations including the United States. However, rulings by the 15-member U.N. tribunal are not binding.

In an unsigned opinion, the Supreme Court said Breard failed to assert his claim that the treaty was violated in state court and therefore lost his right to raise the issue in federal court.

The justices said even if Breard had proven a treaty violation, "it is extremely doubtful that the violation should result in the overturning of a final judgment of conviction without some showing that the violation had an effect on the trial. ... In this case, no such showing could even arguably be made."

Justices John Paul Stevens and Stephen G. Breyer dissented from the ruling. "Virginia is now pursuing an execution schedule that leaves less time for argument and for court consideration than the court's rules provide for ordinary cases," Breyer wrote.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg voted to grant a stay of execution to give the Supreme Court time to hear Breard's appeal.

High-level split

The case created a high-level split between two federal agencies.

On Monday, Albright asked Virginia's governor to voluntarily stay the execution, saying she was concerned the case could jeopardize the safety of Americans arrested in other countries.

But the Justice Department, in a brief filed Monday, recommended that the Supreme Court allow Virginia to execute Breard, saying there was no legal basis for halting the execution.

In a two-page letter to the Virginia governor, Albright said she was making the request to stay the execution with "great reluctance" because of the "aggravated" nature of Breard's crime and because of the lateness of the appeal.

But Albright wrote of "unique" international policy concerns, primarily the need to protect the rights of U.S. citizens detained abroad to have access to U.S. diplomats.

Governor awaits justices' decision

The Virginia governor, who also had considered a clemency petition filed by Breard's lawyers, had said he would await guidance from the Supreme Court before making his decision.

Gilmore said earlier he shared Albright's concern about the safety of Americans abroad, but added, "I'm also concerned about the safety of the people of Virginia. ... People are entitled to know they will be safe in their homes."

Virginia's attorney general also recommended that the execution proceed. In a brief, Senior Assistant Attorney General Donald Curry argued that Breard's appeal would cast the Supreme Court "in the subservient role of some sort of enforcement arm" of the World Court.

Virginia authorities have acknowledged that they failed to inform Breard of his right under the Vienna Convention to contact the Paraguayan consulate for assistance. However, the Justice Department said in its Supreme Court brief that the error was "no basis for requiring the undoing of the lawfully imposed sentence of the courts of Virginia."

Breard's decisions at issue

Breard's lawyers have argued that because of the absence of help from Paraguayan officials, he made a number of "objectively unreasonable decisions" during the criminal proceedings, which they say were conducted without translation.

Not understanding the "fundamental differences between the criminal justice systems" of the United States and Paraguay, Breard chose to risk the death penalty instead of pleading guilty in exchange for life imprisonment, his lawyers said. U.S. authorities deny such a plea offer was made.

Arthur Karp, the assistant prosecutor who handled the case, said Breard had ample help from his lawyers and that Paraguay did not raise any concerns at the time. "It's difficult to believe anybody in the embassy cared," he said.

Paraguay, while making clear it is not seeking Breard's release from jail, has sought to win him a new trial. The country called on Virginia again Tuesday to stay the execution.

Robert Tomlinson, one of Breard's two attorneys, said Breard "made choices against the advice of his attorneys and other people close to him."

Breard was convicted of stabbing Dickie, his 39-year-old neighbor, five times on February 17, 1992. He told police he intended to rape her but ran away when he heard someone knock on the door. Breard moved to the United States in 1986.

It was the second time in seven months that a national government has tried to stop a Virginia execution because of a treaty violation. Mario Benjamin Murphy was executed September 17 over objections from Mexico. The State Department also pressured then-Gov. George Allen to stop Murphy's execution.

The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to this report.

Related story:

• High court, governor review requests to halt execution

Related sites:

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

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