Written by Carmelo Campos-Cruz
Although the execution of Charles Elroy Laplace in St Kitts on 19 December 2008 was the last in the Caribbean and the number of death sentences in our region has declined steadily, there is another way to impose capital punishment on people from this region; by a death sentence in another country where a person is subject to a criminal procedure. This situation applies considerably to the Caribbean Diaspora in the United States of America. This the main destination for migrants from our region and the only country in the Americas that executes people every year. Census from 2010 estimated that 3.7 million nationals from the islands of the Caribbean lived in the United States, plus 4.6 million Puerto Ricans. The Caribbean immigrant population increased to 4.4 million in 2017, and to almost 5.5 million Puerto Ricans in 2016.
The objective of this article is to summarize the application of capital punishment to the people from the Caribbean in the United States. The information presented comes primarily from two sources: (1) a page devoted to the situation of foreign nationals under sentence of death and (2) a report issued last April about Puerto Rican facing the death penalty in the United States. The second part of this analysis, to be published later, will examine specific cases and histories of human beings from our region who have been executed or who are awaiting execution in the US.
People from the Caribbean executed in the United States
Since 1976, when the United States reestablished capital punishment, 24 persons from the Greater Caribbean have been executed in four states; 13 were Mexicans. Texas, the most prolific jurisdiction employing the death penalty in US history, accounts for 14 executions, followed by Florida (5) and Virginia (3). When we focus on the islands of the Caribbean, four Cuban nationals have been executed, followed by the Dominican Republic, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico with one person executed from each of these countries.
Persons from the Greater Caribbean executed in the United States since 1976
| Name | Country | Date of execution | State | Method of execution |
| Leslie Lowenfield | Guyana | 04/13/1988 | Louisiana | Electrocution |
| Carlos Santana | Dominican Republic | 03/23/1993 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Ramon Montoya | Mexico | 03/25/1993 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Pedro Medina | Mexico | 03/25/1997 | Florida | Electrocution |
| Irineo Montoya | Mexico | 06/18/1997 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Mario Murphy | Mexico | 09/17/1997 | Virginia | Lethal injection |
| Jose Villafuerte | Honduras | 04/22/1998 | Arizona | Lethal injection |
| Miguel Flores | Mexico | 11/09/2000 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Javier Suarez | Mexico | 08/14/2002 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Rigoberto Sanchez | Cuba | 10/02/2002 | Florida | Lethal injection |
| Angel Maturino | Mexico | 06/27/2006 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Angel Nieves | Puerto Rico | 12/13/2006 | Florida | Lethal injection |
| Jose Medellin | Mexico | 08/05/2008 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Heliberto Chi | Honduras | 08/07/2008 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Edward Bell | Jamaica | 02/19/2009 | Virginia | Lethal injection |
| Yosvanis Valle | Cuba | 11/10/2009 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Humberto Leal | Mexico | 07/07/2011 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Manuel Valle | Cuba | 09/28/2011 | Florida | Lethal injection |
| Edgard Tamayo | Mexico | 01/22/2014 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Juan Chavez | Cuba | 02/14/2014 | Florida | Lethal injection |
| Ramiro Hernandez | Mexico | 04/09/2014 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Alfredo Prieto | El Salvador | 10/01/2015 | Virginia | Lethal injection |
| Ruben Cardenas | Mexico | 11/08/2017 | Texas | Lethal injection |
| Roberto Ramos | Mexico | 11/14/2018 | Texas | Lethal injection |
Summary by country
| Number | |
| Mexico | 13 |
| Cuba | 4 |
| Honduras | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 1 |
| El Salvador | 1 |
| Guyana | 1 |
| Jamaica | 1 |
| Puerto Rico | 1 |
| Total | 24 |
| Central America | 3 |
| Islands of the Caribbean + Guyana | 8 |
| from abolitionist countries of the Caribbean | 18 |
| from retentionist countries of the Caribbean | 6 |
Persons of Caribbean origin on death row in the United States today
There are 106 persons from countries of the Greater Caribbean waiting to be executed in seven States (plus one in the federal jurisdiction), including 35 persons from the islands of the Caribbean. Most of these persons originate from Puerto Rico (20) and Cuba (8). Another ten individuals have had their death sentences reversed and are waiting for a new trial or a sentencing hearing in which capital punishment may be imposed again.
Persons from the Islands of the Caribbean
under Sentence of Death in the United States
| Name | Country | State |
| Manuel Machado Alvarez | Cuba | California |
| Omar Blanco | Cuba | Florida |
| Ana Maria Cardona | Cuba | Florida |
| Jesus Delgado | Cuba | Florida |
| Leonardo Franqui | Cuba | Florida |
| Pablo San Martin | Cuba | Florida |
| Marbel Mendoza | Cuba | Florida |
| Manolo Rodriguez | Cuba | Florida |
| Fabio Evelio Gomez | Dominican Republic | Arizona |
| Obel Cruz Garcia | Dominican Republic | Texas |
| Borgela Philistin | Haiti | Pennsylvania |
| Robert Gordon | Jamaica | Florida |
| Granville Ritchie | Jamaica | Florida |
| Albert Reid | Jamaica | Pennsylvania |
| Christopher Henriquez | Puerto Rico | California |
| Christian Cruz | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Ricardo Gonzalez | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Norberto Pietri | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Michael Rivera | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Héctor Gabriel Sanchez | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Angel R. Santiago | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Reinaldo Rivera | Puerto Rico | Georgia |
| Orlando Baez | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Jose Busanet | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| George Ivan Lopez | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Hector M. Morales | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Cletus C. Rivera | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| William Rivera | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Edwin R. Romero | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Abraham Sanchez | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Jose Uderra | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Christopher Henriquez | Puerto Rico | North Carolina |
| James Broadnax | Puerto Rico | Texas |
| Daniel Troya | Puerto Rico | Federal government |
| Linda Carty | St Kitts | Texas |
| Ian Lightbourn | The Bahamas | California |
Persons from the Islands of the Caribbean previously sentenced to death and awaiting resentencing or a new trial in the United States
| Name | Country | State |
| Lancelot Armstrong | Jamaica | Florida |
| Victor Caraballo | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Joel Lebron | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Alex Pagan | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Michael Shellito | Puerto Rico | Florida |
| Milton Montalvo | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Noel Montalvo | Puerto Rico | Pennsylvania |
| Dolan Darling | The Bahamas | California |
| Dane Abdool | Trinidad & Tobago | Florida |
| Noel Doorbal | Trinidad & Tobago | Florida |
Summary by country
| Sentenced to death | Awaiting resentencing or a new trial | Total | |
| Mexico | 51 | 1 | 52 |
| Puerto Rico | 20 | 5 | 25 |
| Cuba | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| El Salvador | 8 | 0 | 8 |
| Honduras | 5 | 0 | 5 |
| Guatemala | 3 | 0 | 3 |
| Colombia | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Dominican Republic | 2 | 0 | 2 |
| Jamaica | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| The Bahamas | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Costa Rica | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Haiti | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| St. Kitts & Nevis | 1 | 0 | 1 |
| Trinidad & Tobago | 0 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 106 | 10 | 116 |
| Central America | 17 | 0 | 17 |
| Islands of the Caribbean | 35 | 9 | 44 |
| from abolitionist countries of the Caribbean | 93 | 6 | 99 |
| from retentionist countries of the Caribbean | 13 | 4 | 17 |
Conclusion
The Caribbean Diaspora has been adversely affected by capital punishment in the United States. There are more people from the Greater Caribbean sentenced to death in the US (106) than persons facing execution in all the retentionist countries of the Caribbean (85). Notably, there are more persons from countries that have abolished capital punishment (Mexico, Puerto Rico, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Colombia, Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, and Haiti) than from retentionist countries (Cuba, Jamaica, The Bahamas, St. Kitts and Trinidad and Tobago), due to the size of their respective migrant population in the US. As this article was limited to present basic figures, more studies will be needed to understand the impact of this issue in the struggle to eradicate this cruel punishment in the Americas.
The Greater Caribbean For Life 