The Spaniard who was wrongly accused and stayed 3 years in the Death Row in Tampa is being free today.
Joaquin Jose Martinez lived in Miami. He was accused of killing a couple. He was innocent but cops "faked" proves against him. His lawyer did a horrible job and he was condemned to die. His parents asked for help to Spaniards who gave donations that reached 60 millions of pesetas so his parents could hire a good lawyer.
Of course money talked and he is free now.
It broke my heart hearing the grandmother saying that she thought that Americans were animals because they wanted to kill her grandchild and nobody (Americans) moved a finger to save him and that not even newspapers or TV cared about him.
How many of you knew about this?

This is the FIRST I've heard about this since reading about it in this morning's El País , but the USA is a big country and regional news don't always become national news. This is sad of the mistakes/lies made. Capital punishment (death penalty) is a passionate topic in this country, that's for sure.

Well, I would think that "Law made a big mistake", "cops faked evidences", "lawyer was an incompetent" are very good stories for the newspapers and TV (they like that kind of trash). I still don't get how come big newspapers are not covering this, too ashamed?

Luces, your profile does not say where you're from, but if its anywhere in the USA, then you should be used to stories of botched investigations, incompetent counsel and overzelous prosecutors & police making terrible mistakes while condeming people (usually poor, minority or (as in this case) foreigners & immigrants. Here in Illinois, the Death Penalty has been suspended because more people have been exonerated off of death row than have actually been executed. It sounds incredible to non-Americans, but this type of injustice is hardly "news" these days. I am so glad to herer that this Spanish national in Tampa has been freed through the efforts and dedication of his countrymen.

Luces,

Being found not guilty is not the same as being innocent. I don't think you're doing anything more than "US bashing."

Mr. Hernandez was arrested based on voluntary information from the ex-Mrs. Hernandez, who by the way is a Spaniard, and from statements he made to his ex-wife that were taped, as well as testimony from another witness.

He was given a re-trial because a question that was not legal was asked of one of the detectives who was investigating the case, and the answer was repeated to the jury during summation.

The only reason he walked away from that court room free is because a key witness died since the last trial, and his ex-wife has changed her story. But associated with her change in her statement are allegations that she and her family back in Spain had been threatened with death if she testified like she did in the first court case.

Now, as for the "fake evidence," please point it out because that's a figment of your imagination.

You said "money talks." I certainly hope you meant that it takes a lot of money to hire a real good attorney, and aren't implying that officials took bribes to get Mr. Hernandez because he's a Spanish National. It really wouldn't have made any difference who he had as a defense attorney the first time around, he would have been guilty, and would have had to use appeals.

By the way. What do you know of Mr. Hernandez police record? You might want to look at that as well. You might also recognize the fact that Grandma, back in Spain, is crying and carrying on because it was her Grandson. If that was the son of a Mexican immigrant, or one from Bosnia, would she really give a damn?

Wolf

Wolf, unfortunately today was the first time that I heard about this case. I read different newspapers and watch different news channels (in Spanish and English), I usually believe that something is the truth if everybody say is the truth and everybody is telling the same story. The reason why ex-Hernandez didn't go to the trial is (based on newspapers and TVnews) that what she said in first place doesn't match what she is saying right now, both lawyers decided not to call her.
I am American (not born here but I have the citizenship) and I love this country the same way that if I was born here, but I don't think that American justice is perfect and I do believe that rich people get away with murders and immigrants and poor people go to the death row because they don't have the money to pay a lawyer that cares.
But I apologize if I say something that offended you, I was trying to express my opinion based on what I heard from different sources.

PS: The fake evidence (again as heard on TV and red on newspapers) is the hours that the crime was commited.

[ 06-07-2001: Message edited by: Luces de Bohemia ]

The Joaquín José Martínez case is now really popular in Spain. The mass media coverage has been incredible. Every TV news program is talking about it.

In fact, JJ Martinez was condemned to the death row without real evidences. The blood, hairs and other material found in the crime scene were not his, cops didn't have anything to incriminate him but a video tape, in which you can't hear or see anything (it's been shown in spanish TV and it a blurred and inaudible tape), it was dubbed by a cop that said JJ Martinez nodded when his ex-wife asked him if he had commited the crime. His ex-wife (not a Spaniard, but American) was threatened by cops, they said they would take her children away to foster care and forced her to declare against him in court and to take part in the manipulated tape. This was in 1995, two years later she declared to "Television de Cataluña" that she lied because she was jealous (Martínez was living with other woman), that she tried to talk to the judge but he refused to see her.

In the second trial, it was also proved that the date of the crime had been also manipulated by cops, moving it to the only day Martínez didn't have an alibi. It was proved that his ex-lover (not a Spaniard)also lied in the first trial when she realised Martinez was dating her younger sister. I haven't heard anything about a key witness dying, maybe Mr. Hernández and Mr. Martínez are not the same person.

And, yes, "money talks", if the Martínez's family hadn't had the 100 million pesetas for the second trial, maybe he would be dead by now. This money has been donated by thousands of Spaniards who have heard about this case because Martinez's parents have been collecting all this money for the last three years, going to TV programs, explaining their case to people, to Spanish politicians, etc...

I don't care if he's guilty or not, and I don't know all the facts so I can't take sides in that.

The issue I have is that I'm not in favor of the death penalty, and I never have been. What really annoys me is when Europeans take this 'lofty' attitude towards countries which have the death penalty. (I have a US passport but have lived in Europe for a good chunk of my life)

Let's not forget that Spain had the death penalty, and used it quite liberally. France got rid of it in 1980, and almost 60% of the populace was against retiring the guillotine (yes, still a guillotine. In 1980!). Polls in the US put about 55-60% in favor of the death penalty. This 'we would never have the death penalty in Europe' attitude is hypocrisy.

Also the tendency is for countries to bemoan the fate of their nationals imprisoned abroad no matter what they did. There is an American girl in jail in Peru. She was part of an insurgent group and was tossed in the hooskah there. Despite that she allegedly planned a raid on an embassy, her parents here cry about her poor conditions, etc etc.

About Spain, we had death penalty until 1976, the political situation was very different before.
I think now, almost nobody would think about it again.
About the USA, I have read these days in the papers that each day is less the support for it (as you said 56%), and in almost of the states there isn't capital death, but in others like Texas or Florida, it's very popular and deaths mean votes...that's the idea we have here. And it's a petty that this happens in the most developed country.

The polemic with this case of JJMartinez, it's that there were some irregularities as Castiza has told....

By the way, Wolfgang, according to the article in El Pais, the accused was indeed declared innocent.

SusiLaGallega