An execution scheduled in Texas today is making international headlines. Should Humberto Leal Garcia, Jr. die at the hands of the state, the U.S.'s diplomatic relations with Mexico could be adversely impacted, and possibly may violate the U.S.'s compliance with the U.N.’s Vienna Convention on Consular Relations. Garcia was convicted in 1994 of raping and killing a 16-year-old girl in Texas. He is a Mexican national and was not informed that he could access Mexican consular officials after his arrest. Garcia has been denied clemency from the state of Texas, but President Obama has asked that the Supreme Court weigh in on his case by today.

A major shortage of a drug called sodium thiopental is hampering the ability of states to put inmates to death. The first execution in California in four years was postponed this week, and it's likely not to be the last. Though nine states across the nation have 17 lethal injections scheduled between now and the end of January, it is uncertain whether they will be able to perform the executions due to the shortage.

State prison systems are scrambling to find supplies of sodium thiopental, but they have competition in their search. Over the last few years, the drug has become popular with hospitals, where it is used as an anesthetic for surgery and to induce medial comas. Hospitals had previously used a drug called propofol, though that too has become scarce.

From telling a joke to talking to their families to denying their crimes, the last words of death row inmates tend to center on similar themes throughout history. Why are these words so compelling? And what do they say about humanity?