NO to the Death Penalty The "Moratorium 2000" - International Campaign

Urgent appeal

Appeal for Joaquín José Martínez

The appeal can be sent by mail, fax or email. The addresses of the governor of Florida are: Governor John Ellis Bush The Capitol Tallahassee FL 32399-0001 Telephone: (850) 488-4441 FAX: (850) 487-0801 E-mail: fl_governor@eog.state.fl.us Home Page: http://fcn.state.fl.us/eog/	Joaquín José Martínez with his children

The         Honorable Jeb Bush Governor of Florida The Capitol Tallahassee, FL 32399-0001 _____________, ________ 1999 Dear Sir, I am concerned for the situation of a Spanish citizen, Joaquín José Martínez, condemned to death in the State of Florida. His future depends on an appeal to Florida’s Supreme Court. I am convinced that the death penalty is not the right way to impart justice and that its application implies a cruel and inhuman act. Further, it concerns me that the death penalty is often applied arbitrarily and that, in many cases, it depends on the defendant’s capacity to obtain a good legal defense, which in turn depends on other circumstances such as his social and economic situation. I would appreciate your taking into account the serious doubts generated by reports of the execution of innocents in the United States. Although I do not know the details of Joaquín José Martínez’s case and whether he is innocent or not of the crimes of which he is accused, it is known that even the best legal system cannot avoid condemning, erroneously, the innocent. And once an innocent man or woman is executed, it is impossible to repair the error. A recent US report has shown that, since 1973, at least 75 prisoners condemned to death have subsequently been liberated when it was discovered that they had been unjustly condemned. We will never know how many innocents are among the approximately 7,000 prisoners executed in the United States this century, but an important study on this subject found no less than twenty-three were innocent. And for every six prisoners executed since the restoration of capital punishment in the USA, one innocent person was condemned to death and subsequently exonerated of all blame. At this very moment it is possible that other, equally innocent but fortunate prisoners are on Death Row. Of course I sympathize with and support the victims of violent crimes and their families, but it should be said that, increasingly, the families of murder victims in the US have come out against the death penalty. They call it brutalizing and affirm that it does not help them to overcome the loss of their loved ones. All these considerations should be taken into account in the case of Joaquín José Martínez. Also, acconding to infomation I have received, at the time he was detained he was not informed of his right to seek help from his country’s consulate, which is guaranteed by the Viennese Convention Consular Relations. I would respectively request the Floridian authorities to review the death penalty, in the hope that they will join a growing trend in the rest of the world to achieve its abolition. Yours sincerely