exonerated death row inmate
last night i went and saw a man by the name of juan melendez speak to a group of sewanee community members. his puerto rican accent was thick, tattoos visible on both arms, and when he looked around the room i couldn't help but think his gaze reminded me of the gaze of a caged wild animal, recently set free. juan was there to tell us a story - the story of his own life and a very interesting one at that.
born in the state of new york but then moved to the country of puerto rico as an infant, juan grew up with his catholic mother, 5 aunts, and many brothers and sisters. at 15, he decided to quit school in favor moving back into the states to become a migrant worker, moving from state to state, picking various fruits and vegetables for farmers in need of extra hands. on a warm day in 1984 on a fruit farm in pennsylvania, juan was approached by several men from the f.b.i., cuffed, read his rights, and put into isolation at a federal prison. he was told by his lawyer that he had been implicated in a murder and would shortly be extradited to the state of florida, where juan had previously worked and the crime had been committed.
in truth, juan did not know what was happening to him as he did not understand english well enough to comprehend his situation. he was given an interpreter 2 weeks after his arrest, exradited, and a trial began - 11 white jurors and 1 african american - he noted. based on the circumstantial testimonies of two inmates who had grudges against melendez and were promised shortened sentences if they testified to the court, juan was sentenced to death in the state of florida for crimes he was indeed innocent of. it would come out 17 years later that both the prosecuting and defense attorneys had videotape evidence of the real killer confessing his crimes a month *before* melendez even went to trial.
juan described for us some of the conditions in which he lived before he was exonerated in 2001. at night it was so cold that the rats would climb into his bed and blankets for warmth. in the day time, if he did not rise quickly enough for breakfast, the roaches (being hungry also) usually beat him to his breakfast. juan saw inmates die on a fairly regular basis, either by their own hand or by the negligence of some staff. one afternoon a fellow inmate and friend of his, went into a seizure out in the yards. the nurse at the scene, an overweight slow-to-respond caucasian man who didn't even bring medical equipment with him, refused to perform c.p.r. on the dying inmate "because he did not want to put his lips over the mouth of black man."
despite the bleakness of his surroundings, however, juan seemed to manage to find hopeful moments even inside a penitentiary filled with florida's "worst of the worst." fellow inmates offered to teach him to read and write english. his mother and aunts wrote him frequent letters, sending along photos of new family members, children and grandchildren. when his thoughts became the worst and his mind wondered at the thought of taking his own life, juan was even visited by dreams of the beaches of puerto rico and his mother's smiling face.
it took four appeals before juan's case was adequately examined again. because of a technicality (which juan described as a miracle), juan's trial lawyer was no longer able to take his case and it was turned over to a woman judge in a different county. this judge, wishing to get a clearer picture of the case, sent for all evidence possessed by juan's old prosceutor and defense lawyer. as such, she came into possession of a both a taped confession of the real killer as well as physical evidence that placed said individual at the scene of the crime. juan was given a new trial.
once juan's innocence was known, things began moving more quickly and so in 2001 juan was officially exonerated, given a set of clothes and 100 dollars, and set free. since then he has been living in puerto rico and touring the world telling anyone who will listen of his experiences. juan hopes for the revokation of the death penalty within the united states. i have doubts about whether that will happen within his lifetime, if at all, but i must admit, his story touched me and i feel exceptionally lucky to have been able to witness it.
juan melendez - exonerated death row inmate
born in the state of new york but then moved to the country of puerto rico as an infant, juan grew up with his catholic mother, 5 aunts, and many brothers and sisters. at 15, he decided to quit school in favor moving back into the states to become a migrant worker, moving from state to state, picking various fruits and vegetables for farmers in need of extra hands. on a warm day in 1984 on a fruit farm in pennsylvania, juan was approached by several men from the f.b.i., cuffed, read his rights, and put into isolation at a federal prison. he was told by his lawyer that he had been implicated in a murder and would shortly be extradited to the state of florida, where juan had previously worked and the crime had been committed.
in truth, juan did not know what was happening to him as he did not understand english well enough to comprehend his situation. he was given an interpreter 2 weeks after his arrest, exradited, and a trial began - 11 white jurors and 1 african american - he noted. based on the circumstantial testimonies of two inmates who had grudges against melendez and were promised shortened sentences if they testified to the court, juan was sentenced to death in the state of florida for crimes he was indeed innocent of. it would come out 17 years later that both the prosecuting and defense attorneys had videotape evidence of the real killer confessing his crimes a month *before* melendez even went to trial.
juan described for us some of the conditions in which he lived before he was exonerated in 2001. at night it was so cold that the rats would climb into his bed and blankets for warmth. in the day time, if he did not rise quickly enough for breakfast, the roaches (being hungry also) usually beat him to his breakfast. juan saw inmates die on a fairly regular basis, either by their own hand or by the negligence of some staff. one afternoon a fellow inmate and friend of his, went into a seizure out in the yards. the nurse at the scene, an overweight slow-to-respond caucasian man who didn't even bring medical equipment with him, refused to perform c.p.r. on the dying inmate "because he did not want to put his lips over the mouth of black man."
despite the bleakness of his surroundings, however, juan seemed to manage to find hopeful moments even inside a penitentiary filled with florida's "worst of the worst." fellow inmates offered to teach him to read and write english. his mother and aunts wrote him frequent letters, sending along photos of new family members, children and grandchildren. when his thoughts became the worst and his mind wondered at the thought of taking his own life, juan was even visited by dreams of the beaches of puerto rico and his mother's smiling face.
it took four appeals before juan's case was adequately examined again. because of a technicality (which juan described as a miracle), juan's trial lawyer was no longer able to take his case and it was turned over to a woman judge in a different county. this judge, wishing to get a clearer picture of the case, sent for all evidence possessed by juan's old prosceutor and defense lawyer. as such, she came into possession of a both a taped confession of the real killer as well as physical evidence that placed said individual at the scene of the crime. juan was given a new trial.
once juan's innocence was known, things began moving more quickly and so in 2001 juan was officially exonerated, given a set of clothes and 100 dollars, and set free. since then he has been living in puerto rico and touring the world telling anyone who will listen of his experiences. juan hopes for the revokation of the death penalty within the united states. i have doubts about whether that will happen within his lifetime, if at all, but i must admit, his story touched me and i feel exceptionally lucky to have been able to witness it.
juan melendez - exonerated death row inmate