DLM
03-28-2005, 06:44 AM
Wrongly convicted and facing a death sentence Juan Melendez survived death row. Now he fights for end to executions
MEGAN OGILVIE
Tor.Star STAFF REPORTER
Juan Melendez was going to kill himself.
After 10 years on death row, the Florida inmate wanted out.
"And the only way to get out is to commit suicide," he says. "You start thinking, `Why let them kill you when you can do it yourself?'"
But the night before Melendez was going to hang himself from his prison bunk, he dreamt of the white beaches and sparkling blue ocean of his hometown in Puerto Rico.
"I was out on the water and I saw an old woman on the beach waving at me and it was my mama," says Melendez, one of only a handful of death row inmates set free after U.S. courts decided they were wrongly convicted.
He took his mama's appearance as a sign from heaven, threw out the black plastic garbage bag he had fashioned into a noose, and placed his faith in God.
But Melendez had little reason for faith — or for hope.
On Sept. 19, 1983, he was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of a beauty school operator — a crime he didn't commit. He was exonerated in 2002 after spending 17 years, eight months and one day on death row. Another man, who was murdered while Melendez was in prison, is the real suspected killer.
In Toronto to campaign for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, Melendez, 53, told his story of almost 18 years on death row to a recent forum at Metro Hall..
With the passion of a preacher, Melendez spoke of the long years of confinement, his battles with suicidal thoughts, the brotherhood among fellow inmates, and the crippling grief of watching friends being led to their death.
He also thanked Canada for its support and asked for further assistance to rid the U.S. of the death penalty.
"To make any major changes in the United States, we've always have had to get international countries involved like Canada," Melendez said in an interview after his speech. "Without their involvement we could not get rid of slavery, we could not get rid of segregation, and the same way with the death penalty."
"Canada doesn't have the death penalty," he added. "The United States should follow Canada's example. Canada is teaching us something — that it is wrong to kill."
Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976, nearly 14 years after the country's last executions. Ronald Turpin, 29, and Arthur Lucas, 54, were hanged for murder in Toronto on Dec. 11, 1962.
The Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CCADP), one of the co-sponsors of Melendez's visit, continues to fight for an end to capital punishment around the world. The Toronto-based group hosts a website for death row inmates to post information about their convictions — and one of those who used it was Melendez.
"Canada was the first one who was kind of enough to put me on the Internet so that I could get my cries of innocence out," says Melendez, who was taught to speak and write English by fellow inmates on death row.
The website represents nearly 1,000 death row prisoners — a dozen have been re-sentenced or exonerated of the crime of which they were initially accused.
"We would like to see Canadians get more involved in this," says Dave Parkinson, co-founder of the CCADP. "We've given up the death penalty. We know what it entails."
While Canada has abolished the capital punishment, it has been less successful in preventing wrongful convictions. Earlier this month, James Driskell, a 46-year-old Winnipeg man, was exonerated of first-degree murder after spending more than 12 years in prison.
Melendez, though sympathetic to those who went to prison for crimes they didn't commit, says he campaigns for a greater injustice — the state-sanctioned killing of human beings. He wants to see the international abolition of the death penalty before he dies.
Despite many of his friends still living on death row, Melendez believes the world is winning the war against the death penalty.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute juvenile killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. The decision ended a practice used in 19 states, and commuted the death sentences of 72 juvenile murderers.
"We can no longer kill juveniles by the death penalty and thank God," says Melendez. "Maybe it will be 10 years, maybe 12, before the death penalty is abolished."
Melendez has moved back to Puerto Rico where he is always close to the white beaches of his dreams — and where he can take care of his aging mama.
MEGAN OGILVIE
Tor.Star STAFF REPORTER
Juan Melendez was going to kill himself.
After 10 years on death row, the Florida inmate wanted out.
"And the only way to get out is to commit suicide," he says. "You start thinking, `Why let them kill you when you can do it yourself?'"
But the night before Melendez was going to hang himself from his prison bunk, he dreamt of the white beaches and sparkling blue ocean of his hometown in Puerto Rico.
"I was out on the water and I saw an old woman on the beach waving at me and it was my mama," says Melendez, one of only a handful of death row inmates set free after U.S. courts decided they were wrongly convicted.
He took his mama's appearance as a sign from heaven, threw out the black plastic garbage bag he had fashioned into a noose, and placed his faith in God.
But Melendez had little reason for faith — or for hope.
On Sept. 19, 1983, he was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder of a beauty school operator — a crime he didn't commit. He was exonerated in 2002 after spending 17 years, eight months and one day on death row. Another man, who was murdered while Melendez was in prison, is the real suspected killer.
In Toronto to campaign for the worldwide abolition of the death penalty, Melendez, 53, told his story of almost 18 years on death row to a recent forum at Metro Hall..
With the passion of a preacher, Melendez spoke of the long years of confinement, his battles with suicidal thoughts, the brotherhood among fellow inmates, and the crippling grief of watching friends being led to their death.
He also thanked Canada for its support and asked for further assistance to rid the U.S. of the death penalty.
"To make any major changes in the United States, we've always have had to get international countries involved like Canada," Melendez said in an interview after his speech. "Without their involvement we could not get rid of slavery, we could not get rid of segregation, and the same way with the death penalty."
"Canada doesn't have the death penalty," he added. "The United States should follow Canada's example. Canada is teaching us something — that it is wrong to kill."
Canada abolished capital punishment in 1976, nearly 14 years after the country's last executions. Ronald Turpin, 29, and Arthur Lucas, 54, were hanged for murder in Toronto on Dec. 11, 1962.
The Canadian Coalition Against the Death Penalty (CCADP), one of the co-sponsors of Melendez's visit, continues to fight for an end to capital punishment around the world. The Toronto-based group hosts a website for death row inmates to post information about their convictions — and one of those who used it was Melendez.
"Canada was the first one who was kind of enough to put me on the Internet so that I could get my cries of innocence out," says Melendez, who was taught to speak and write English by fellow inmates on death row.
The website represents nearly 1,000 death row prisoners — a dozen have been re-sentenced or exonerated of the crime of which they were initially accused.
"We would like to see Canadians get more involved in this," says Dave Parkinson, co-founder of the CCADP. "We've given up the death penalty. We know what it entails."
While Canada has abolished the capital punishment, it has been less successful in preventing wrongful convictions. Earlier this month, James Driskell, a 46-year-old Winnipeg man, was exonerated of first-degree murder after spending more than 12 years in prison.
Melendez, though sympathetic to those who went to prison for crimes they didn't commit, says he campaigns for a greater injustice — the state-sanctioned killing of human beings. He wants to see the international abolition of the death penalty before he dies.
Despite many of his friends still living on death row, Melendez believes the world is winning the war against the death penalty.
Last month, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that it was unconstitutional to execute juvenile killers who were under 18 when they committed their crimes. The decision ended a practice used in 19 states, and commuted the death sentences of 72 juvenile murderers.
"We can no longer kill juveniles by the death penalty and thank God," says Melendez. "Maybe it will be 10 years, maybe 12, before the death penalty is abolished."
Melendez has moved back to Puerto Rico where he is always close to the white beaches of his dreams — and where he can take care of his aging mama.