Angel Díaz Nieves (1956? - December 13, 2006) was a Puerto Rican convict that was executed by lethal injection on 2006 in the state of Florida. Díaz was convicted after he allegedly shot the manager of a strip bar in the same state back in 1979. He always alleged his innocence for the charges and wasn't willing to declare himself guilty for a crime he said he didn't commit.
Biography
Childhood and Youth
Díaz received a life sentence in Puerto Rico for a murder. However, he managed to escape and flee to the United States. There he was also imprisoned in Connecticut but he escaped again.
Crime and Conviction
On December 29, 1979, Díaz and a friend robbed the Velvet Swing Lounge, a strip-club in Florida. During the robbery, Joseph Nagy, the manager, was shot to death. There were no eyewitness because most of the employees and patrons were locked in a restroom. However, Díaz' girlfriend at the time told the police that he was involved. He was tried and convicted for the crime despite alleging that his friend was the one that commited the crime. Finally the jury sentenced him to death by an 8-4 vote.
The testimony of a fellow inmate of Dade County, Ralph Gajus, was also crucial on Díaz conviction and sentence. In 1984, Gajus testified that Díaz had confessed in his cell that he had shot Nagy. This despite the fact that Díaz hardly spoke English and Gajus understood no Spanish. Still, his testimony was taken in consideration. Recently, one of Díaz attorneys asked the Supreme Court to consider a sworn declaration of Gajus taken more recently where he confessed he lied in his initial declaration. Gajus was allegedly mad at Díaz for leaving him out of an escape attempt earlier, and because the police allegedly promised to help him with his case.
In 1989, then-Governor of Florida, Bob Martínez, ordered his execution. However, the state court suspended it when Díaz presented his appeals.
Execution
In 2006, Díaz last appeal was denied. As the date of the execution came closer, the case was again brought to the public knowledge. In November 28, 2006, the Governor of Puerto Rico, Aníbal Acevedo Vilá asked the Governor of Florida, Jeb Bush, for mercy in the case. However, the petition was denied.
On December 13, 2006, Díaz was executed by lethal injection in Starke state prison. A lot of controversy surrounded the execution because, contrary to the usual practices, Díaz needed an additional dose of drugs to be executed. The whole process took approximately 37 minutes as opposed to the usual 15 minutes. The family declared the procedure a botched execution.
According to Gretl Plessinger, Department of Corrections spokeswoman, Díaz didn't feel any pain and the delay was the cause of a liver disease. The family has denied that Díaz suffered any disease.
See Also
External Links
- Executed killer took 34 minutes to die on CNN
- Larga la agonía del reo on El Nuevo Día
- Ejecutan a un boricua on La Opinión
- Victoria judicial para condenado boricua on Univision
- Gobernador pide clemencia para boricua condenado a pena de muerte on Televicentro de Puerto Rico
- Ejecutado puertorriqueño convicto por asesinato en Florida on Terra.com