A Florida man who spent nearly 18 years on death row will bring his story to UNM on Tuesday.
Juan Melendez Jr. was found guilty of the 1983 murder and armed robbery of Delbert Baker, a Florida cosmetology school owner. He was sentenced to death in 1984 and released from prison in 2002. He will make stops throughout the state this week speaking out against capital punishment.
UNM professor Judith Hendry will host Melendez's presentation in her senior seminar course. She said although the topic is not part of her course, the opportunity for Melendez to come to UNM presented itself at the right time.
"It really is completely off the subject, but I don't feel real bad about that because it is such a wonderful opportunity," she said. "I just jumped on it."
She said until the justice system is infallible, the death penalty should be abolished.
"We just have to get rid of the death penalty," she said. "There are just too many cases like Mr. Melendez's."
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After many fruitless appeals, Melendez was granted a new trial in late 2001 when a circuit judge uncovered facts that undermined his conviction.
Circuit Judge Barbara Fleischer issued an opinion stating that no physical evidence linking Melendez to the crime, and two witnesses central to the jury's decision were denied key evidence - another man's confession of Baker's murder discovered in 1999 - that could have supported the defense. A new trial was ordered but dropped after the prosecution announced it lacked adequate evidence, and Melendez was released.
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Melendez is the 99th death row inmate to successfully prove his innocence in the United States. Since his release, 14 other death row inmates have been freed, the most recent being the February release of Alan Gell who spent four years on death row.
Attorney Judy Caruso organized Melendez's appearance at UNM. Caruso is the outreach coordinator for Murder Victims Families for Reconciliation, a group of families of murder victims opposed to the death penalty. She said lack of education presents the primary obstacle for efforts toward banning capital punishment, and these talks have proven effective.
"I think it is the most powerful anti-death penalty testimony out there. I know firsthand that folks who hear him speak, people who are ambivalent about the death penalty or are mildly supportive of it, will come out and say, 'Wow, I never thought we could come so close to killing innocent people in this country,'" she said.
Caruso said one of the reasons former Governor Gary Johnson now opposes the death penalty is because of efforts like her own.
"When (Johnson) took office, he wanted to make the N.M. death penalty like that of Texas - to speed it up and make it a deterrent," she said. "Believe it or not, within the eight years he was in office - a lot of it was our educating, and he was at least open to listening - he actually declared he was against the death penalty."
Melendez is one of more than 23 Floridians who have been wrongly imprisoned on death row since 1973, according to DPIC. During the same period, four New Mexicans were released with evidence of their innocence.
Melendez will speak Tuesday at 8 a.m. in Mitchell Hall, room 101.
Students, faculty and staff are invited to attend the lecture. Hendry said it will take up the entire class period.
Afterward, Melendez will speak at events in Santa Fe, Taos and Las Vegas. For additional information call the Coalition to Repeal the Death Penalty at 986-9536.
