As things stand right now, Humberto Leal Garcia, on death row in Texas, is to be lethally injected at 7pm local. It's an interesting case.

In 2004 the International Court of Justice ruled that the Leal case should be reheard along with some 50 others in the US. Obama and even George W have urged the Texas authorities to respect the ICJ. But governor Rick Perry has said that Texas does not have to heed "a foreign court."

My guess is that sanity will prevail over redneck hubris. But it makes one wonder whether the rule of law has even yet penetrated the southern states, Texas in particular. And what kind of constitution allows elements of a sovereign state to over-rule that state's obligations under international law?

Of course, Rick Perry's stance sits well with the US's refusal to accept jurisdiction of the ICC. But it sits oddly with the US enthusiasm for arraigning others before the international courts.