Albright Seeks to Block Execution

Secretary of State Madeleine Albright asked Virginia’s governor to block today’s execution of a death-row inmate from Paraguay, saying she was concerned about the “potential harm” to Americans abroad. Albright made the request in a letter to Virginia Gov. James S. Gilmore. A spokesman said the governor was reviewing the request. But the Justice Department urged the Supreme Court to allow the execution of Angel Francisco Breard to proceed, despite pleas for a postponement by the government of Paraguay and the World Court. Breard was convicted in the 1992 stabbing death of Ruth Dickie in her Arlington apartment.