Supreme Court won't halt execution of convicted rapist/murderer Humberto Leal

Despite pleas from the Obama administration to delay the execution of Mexican national Humberto Leal in Texas, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to halt the proceedings on Thursday.

The 5-4 vote came an hour before Leal was set to be taken to the Texas death chamber and killed through lethal injection.

The court had been debating whether or not executing Leal was against inteational rights after his lawyers claimed he did not receive help from the Mexican consul.

The 38-year-old was sentenced to death for the rape and murder of a 16-year-old girl in 1994. Prosecutors said Leal offered to take the victim from a party before brutally raping and strangling her. When her body was found, it had been mutilated with a large stick.

While the Obama administration and Leal's attoeys didn't focus on his innocence or guilt, they maintained that inteational treaties require that foreign suspects be allowed access to their country's consulate if arrested, and that Leal was denied that right. The Obama administration fears that precedent could endanger American citizens if violated by the judicial system in Texas.

"This case was not just about one Mexican national on death row in Texas. The execution of Mr. Leal violates the United States' treaty commitments, threatens the nation's foreign policy interests, and undermines the safety of all Americans abroad,” Leal's attoey, Sandra Babcock said.

But Leal wasn't exactly a lost visitor in a foreign country -- he moved to the United States from Monterrey, Mexico as a toddler.

Stephen Hoffman, the assistant attoey general, called the lawsuit just another attempt for Leal to escape justice.

"At this point, it is clear that Leal is attempting to avoid execution by overwhelming the state and the courts with as many meritless lawsuits and motions as humanly possible," he said.

The case has divided experts, many of whom support the Obama's administrations fears that the execution will set a bad standard.

PJ Crowley, the former State Department Spokesman, spoke out on Twitter on Thursday evening "Of #NorthKorea, #Iran and #Texas, which does not grant guaranteed consular access to foreign inmates prior to trial? That would be Texas."