The Death Penalty in the OSCE Area be proven beyond reasonable doubt”.110 He went on to express his hope that the case would reinvigorate debate on capital punishment at both the federal and state levels. In May 2012, Darold Stenson’s murder conviction was overturned by the Washington State Supreme Court, after it was shown that the state had withheld favorable evidence at the time of his trial. The Court ordered a new trial, having concluded that the result of the initial trial may have been different had a key FBI file and photographs been disclosed to the defence. Stenson had spent 18 years on death row prior to the ruling. 111 Foreign Nationals According to the United State’s response to the questionnaire, there were 135 reported foreign nationals, comprising 37 nationalities, on death row in the United States as of 26 July 2012. On 1 July 2011, the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights issued precautionary measures on behalf of Humberto Leal Garcia, requesting the United States suspend his execution until a process could be established to arrange for a review of his case. The same day, the U.S. Department of Justice filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court in an attempt to stay the execution.112 The justice department argued that the execution would breach the United States’ obligations under international law to afford Leal Garcia a review and reconsideration of his conviction and sentence, in light of its failure to provide consular notification and assistance under the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Also on 1 July, the U.S. Department of State sent letters to the Texas authorities requesting that they refrain from executing Leal Garcia.113 The State Department drew attention to the fact that the draft “Consular Notification Compliance Act of 2011” was under consideration at the time and asked for a temporary delay in execution. This legislation would allow for post-conviction review of cases concerning Vienna Convention violations, including Leal Garcia’s case.114 On 7 July the U.S. Supreme Court denied the application for a stay of execution, shortly after which Leal Garcia was executed. The International Commission Against the Death Penalty, which had written to the governor of Texas 110  “OSCE human rights chief expresses dismay about execution of Troy Davis, hopes case will revive capital punishment debate in the US”, OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights, 17 May 2011, <http://www.osce. org/odihr/82781>. 111  “After 18 years, death sentence and murder conviction overturned”, American Civil Liberties Union of Washington State, 11 May 2012, <http://www.aclu-wa.org/blog/after-18-years-death-sentence-and-murder-conviction-overturned>. 112  “Brief for the United States as Amicus Curiae in Support of Applications for a Stay”, U.S. Justice Department, July 2011, <http://sblog.s3.amazonaws.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/07/SG-amicus-in-Leal-execution-7-1-11.pdf >. 113  Ibid. 114  Avena and other Mexican Nationals (Mexico v. United States), March 31, 2004, <http://www.icj-cij.org/docket/ index.php?p1=3&p2=3&k=18&p3=4&case=128>. 23