Ángel Nieves Díaz
Encyclopedia
Ángel Nieves Díaz was a Puerto Rican
convict who was executed by lethal injection
in Raiford, Florida
. Nieves Díaz was convicted for shooting and killing the manager of a strip club
in 1979. He maintained his innocence until his execution.
, and became involved in the world of crime and drugs, going by the nickname Papo la Muerte (Papo Death). In 1978, he was sentenced to 10–15 years in prison for second-degree murder of a director of Hogares Crea
(a drug rehabilitation organization on the island) by stabbing him nineteen times while he was asleep.
He was imprisoned in the Río Piedras State Penitentiary
in Puerto Rico (also known as Oso Blanco). While imprisoned he was a member of the Convicts Association. However, a year later, he managed to escape and fled to the Mainland United States. In 1981, he fled the Hartford Correctional Center in Connecticut
by holding one guard at knifepoint while another was beaten as he and three other inmates escaped.
According to the Puerto Rican socialist newspaper Claridad
, the FBI
approached Nieves Díaz and offered to "clean his slate" if he signed a sworn declaration which would implicate Puerto Rican Socialist Party
politician and Claridad
publisher Carlos Gallisá
, whom he had previously met through the prison gang the Ñetas
, in activities of the terrorist group Los Macheteros, but that Nieves Díaz denied the petition.
. During the robbery, Joseph Nagy, the manager, was shot to death. There were no eyewitness
es because most of the employees and patrons were locked in a public restroom
.
In 1983, Nieves Díaz's girlfriend at the time told the police that he was involved. In 1986, he was tried and convicted. He claimed, however, that Toro committed the crime. Finally the jury sentenced him to death by an 8-4 vote. Nieves Díaz was found guilty of the charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, attempted robbery, and felon in possession of a firearm.
The testimony of a fellow inmate of Dade County
, Ralph Gajus, was also crucial on Díaz conviction and sentence. In 1984, Gajus testified that Nieves Díaz had confessed in his cell that he had shot Nagy. This was despite the fact that Nieves Díaz hardly spoke English and Gajus understood no Spanish. Still, his testimony was taken in consideration.
Later, one of Nieves Díaz's attorneys asked the Supreme Court
to consider a sworn declaration of Gajus taken more recently in which he confessed he lied in his initial declaration. Gajus was allegedly angry with Nieves Díaz for having been left out of an escape attempt earlier and the police allegedly promised to help Gajus with his case.
, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
asked the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush
, for clemency in the case. However, the petition was denied.
On December 13, 2006, Nieves Díaz was executed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison
in Raiford. He did not order a last meal
, but was served a prison menu of shredded turkey with taco seasoning, shredded cheese, rice, pinto beans, tortilla shells, apple crisp, and iced tea. His final statement was: "The state of Florida is killing an innocent person. The state of Florida is committing a crime, because I am innocent. The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans. I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this." A great amount of controversy surrounded the execution because, contrary to the usual practices, Nieves Díaz needed an additional dose of drugs to be executed. The whole process took approximately an hour as opposed to the usual 15 minutes. The family declared the procedure a botched execution.
Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said that Nieves Díaz did not feel any pain and that a liver
condition was the cause of the delay, but the family then denied that Nieves Díaz suffered any such condition. A further investigation concluded that there was negligence in the colocation of the needles in Nieves Díaz's arms which prevented the drugs from fully reaching his organs. As a result of this, Governor Bush postponed all other pending executions until further notice.
However, on July 18, 2007, the new governor, Charlie Crist
, lifted the ban by signing a death warrant
, authorizing execution of Mark Dean Schwab.
Puerto Rican people
A Puerto Rican is a person who was born in Puerto Rico.Puerto Ricans born and raised in the continental United States are also sometimes referred to as Puerto Ricans, although they were not born in Puerto Rico...
convict who was executed by lethal injection
Lethal injection
Lethal injection is the practice of injecting a person with a fatal dose of drugs for the express purpose of causing the immediate death of the subject. The main application for this procedure is capital punishment, but the term may also be applied in a broad sense to euthanasia and suicide...
in Raiford, Florida
Raiford, Florida
Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. The population was 187 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S...
. Nieves Díaz was convicted for shooting and killing the manager of a strip club
Strip club
A strip club is an adult entertainment venue in which striptease or other erotic or exotic dance is regularly performed. Strip clubs typically adopt a nightclub or bar style, but can also adopt a theatre or cabaret-style....
in 1979. He maintained his innocence until his execution.
Youth and early crimes
Nieves Diaz was born in Puerto RicoPuerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, and became involved in the world of crime and drugs, going by the nickname Papo la Muerte (Papo Death). In 1978, he was sentenced to 10–15 years in prison for second-degree murder of a director of Hogares Crea
Hogares Crea
Hogar Crea is an international institution, founded in Puerto Rico, that helps drug addicts break their habits.In 1968, Jose Juan Garcia founded "Hogar Crea". The word "Crea" means for the re-education of the addict and the community. Those who enter the program do not have to pay a fee, but must...
(a drug rehabilitation organization on the island) by stabbing him nineteen times while he was asleep.
He was imprisoned in the Río Piedras State Penitentiary
Río Piedras State Penitentiary
The Río Piedras State Penitentiary, also known as Puerto Rico Island Penitentiary or Oso Blanco , was a correctional facility located in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico. The institution opened in 1933 under the government of James R...
in Puerto Rico (also known as Oso Blanco). While imprisoned he was a member of the Convicts Association. However, a year later, he managed to escape and fled to the Mainland United States. In 1981, he fled the Hartford Correctional Center in Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
by holding one guard at knifepoint while another was beaten as he and three other inmates escaped.
According to the Puerto Rican socialist newspaper Claridad
Claridad
Claridad is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was first published in June, 1959. Claridad served as the official publication of the Pro-Independence Movement and later the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. The paper has been praised for its strong political and...
, the FBI
Federal Bureau of Investigation
The Federal Bureau of Investigation is an agency of the United States Department of Justice that serves as both a federal criminal investigative body and an internal intelligence agency . The FBI has investigative jurisdiction over violations of more than 200 categories of federal crime...
approached Nieves Díaz and offered to "clean his slate" if he signed a sworn declaration which would implicate Puerto Rican Socialist Party
Puerto Rican Socialist Party
The Puerto Rican Socialist Party was a Marxist and pro-independence political party in Puerto Rico seeking the end of United States of America control on the Hispanic and Caribbean island...
politician and Claridad
Claridad
Claridad is a Spanish-language weekly newspaper based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. It was first published in June, 1959. Claridad served as the official publication of the Pro-Independence Movement and later the Puerto Rican Socialist Party. The paper has been praised for its strong political and...
publisher Carlos Gallisá
Carlos Gallisá
Carlos Gallisá Bisbal is a Puerto Rican attorney, politician, and independence movement leader.After graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, Gallisá practiced labor law. He became politicized through the Vieques protests against the United States Navy....
, whom he had previously met through the prison gang the Ñetas
Ñetas
The Ñeta Association is the name of a Puerto Rican gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States...
, in activities of the terrorist group Los Macheteros, but that Nieves Díaz denied the petition.
Crime and conviction
On December 29, 1979, Nieves Díaz and two friends, Angel Toro and another yet-unidentified man, robbed the Velvet Swing Lounge, a strip club in FloridaFlorida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. During the robbery, Joseph Nagy, the manager, was shot to death. There were no eyewitness
Witness
A witness is someone who has firsthand knowledge about an event, or in the criminal justice systems usually a crime, through his or her senses and can help certify important considerations about the crime or event. A witness who has seen the event first hand is known as an eyewitness...
es because most of the employees and patrons were locked in a public restroom
Washroom
A public toilet is a room or small building containing one or more toilets and possibly also urinals which is available for use by the general public, or in a broader meaning of "public", by customers of other...
.
In 1983, Nieves Díaz's girlfriend at the time told the police that he was involved. In 1986, he was tried and convicted. He claimed, however, that Toro committed the crime. Finally the jury sentenced him to death by an 8-4 vote. Nieves Díaz was found guilty of the charges of first-degree murder, kidnapping, armed robbery, attempted robbery, and felon in possession of a firearm.
The testimony of a fellow inmate of Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
, Ralph Gajus, was also crucial on Díaz conviction and sentence. In 1984, Gajus testified that Nieves Díaz had confessed in his cell that he had shot Nagy. This was despite the fact that Nieves Díaz hardly spoke English and Gajus understood no Spanish. Still, his testimony was taken in consideration.
Later, one of Nieves Díaz's attorneys asked the Supreme Court
Supreme Court of the United States
The Supreme Court of the United States is the highest court in the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all state and federal courts, and original jurisdiction over a small range of cases...
to consider a sworn declaration of Gajus taken more recently in which he confessed he lied in his initial declaration. Gajus was allegedly angry with Nieves Díaz for having been left out of an escape attempt earlier and the police allegedly promised to help Gajus with his case.
Execution
In 2006, Nieves Díaz's last appeal was denied. As the date of the execution came closer, the case was again brought to the public knowledge. On November 28, 2006, the Governor of Puerto RicoGovernor of Puerto Rico
The Governor of Puerto Rico is the Head of Government of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico. Since 1948, the Governor has been elected by the people of Puerto Rico...
, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Acevedo Vilá
Aníbal Salvador Acevedo Vilá is a Puerto Rican politician and lawyer. He served as the eighth Governor of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, a Commonwealth of the United States, from 2005 to 2009. He is a Harvard University alumnus and a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico School of Law,...
asked the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush
Jeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
, for clemency in the case. However, the petition was denied.
On December 13, 2006, Nieves Díaz was executed by lethal injection at the Florida State Prison
Florida State Prison
Florida State Prison , formerly known as the Union Correctional Institution—East Unit, is a correctional institution located in unincorporated Bradford County, Florida. It is located on Florida State Road 16 right across the border from Union County. The institution opened in 1961, even though...
in Raiford. He did not order a last meal
Last meal
The last meal is a customary part of a condemned prisoner's last day. Often, the day of, or before, the appointed time of execution, the prisoner receives a last meal, as well as religious rites, if they desire. In the United States, inmates generally may not ask for an alcoholic drink...
, but was served a prison menu of shredded turkey with taco seasoning, shredded cheese, rice, pinto beans, tortilla shells, apple crisp, and iced tea. His final statement was: "The state of Florida is killing an innocent person. The state of Florida is committing a crime, because I am innocent. The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans. I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this." A great amount of controversy surrounded the execution because, contrary to the usual practices, Nieves Díaz needed an additional dose of drugs to be executed. The whole process took approximately an hour as opposed to the usual 15 minutes. The family declared the procedure a botched execution.
Gretl Plessinger, spokeswoman for the Florida Department of Corrections, said that Nieves Díaz did not feel any pain and that a liver
Liver
The liver is a vital organ present in vertebrates and some other animals. It has a wide range of functions, including detoxification, protein synthesis, and production of biochemicals necessary for digestion...
condition was the cause of the delay, but the family then denied that Nieves Díaz suffered any such condition. A further investigation concluded that there was negligence in the colocation of the needles in Nieves Díaz's arms which prevented the drugs from fully reaching his organs. As a result of this, Governor Bush postponed all other pending executions until further notice.
However, on July 18, 2007, the new governor, Charlie Crist
Charlie Crist
Charles Joseph "Charlie" Crist, Jr. is an American politician who was the 44th Governor of Florida. Prior to his election as governor, Crist previously served as Florida State Senator, Education Commissioner, and Attorney General...
, lifted the ban by signing a death warrant
Execution warrant
An execution warrant is a writ which authorizes the execution of a judgment of death on an individual...
, authorizing execution of Mark Dean Schwab.
See also
- List of individuals executed in Florida
- Capital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
External links
- http://web.archive.org/web/20070108180232/http://edition.cnn.com/2006/LAW/12/14/diaz.execution.ap/index.html on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Execution of Florida Inmate Takes 34 minutes (AP)
- Larga la agonía del reo on El Nuevo DíaEl Nuevo DíaEl Nuevo Día is a Puerto Rican newspaper based in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico and distributed daily throughout Puerto Rico and some parts of the United States.- History :...
- Ejecutan a un boricua on La Opinión
- Victoria judicial para condenado boricua on UnivisionUnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest audience of Spanish language television viewers according to Nielsen ratings. Randy Falco, COO, has been in charge of the company since the departure of Univision Communications president and CEO Joe Uva...
- Gobernador pide clemencia para boricua condenado a pena de muerte on TelevicentroTelevicentroTelevicentro may refer to the following:*Televicentro 4 Former name of WAPA-TV, a television station in Puerto Rico*Televicentro , a television station in Honduras*Televicentro , a television station in Nicaragua...
de Puerto Rico - Ejecutado puertorriqueño convicto por asesinato en Florida on Terra.com
- Death row inmate Angel Diaz set to die for slaying of topless bar manager on CNNCNNCable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
- Botched execution likely painful, doctors say. MSNBCMSNBCMSNBC is a cable news channel based in the United States available in the US, Germany , South Africa, the Middle East and Canada...
(2006-12-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-14. - Inmate Release Information Detail - Inmate 101061. Florida Department of CorrectionsFlorida Department of CorrectionsThe Florida Department of Corrections, established in 1821, operates state prisons in Florida. It has its headquarters in Tallahassee.The Florida Department of Corrections operates the third largest state prison system in the United States...
. Retrieved on 2007-11-14.