Capital punishment in Puerto Rico, an

unincorporated territory Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...

of the United States, is abolished. However, a number of people were executed in the territory before abolition. A person who commits a federal crime in Puerto Rico can receive the death penalty.

History

From the 16th century until 1898, Puerto Rico was a part of the Spanish Empire. The number of people executed in Puerto Rico by the Spanish authorities is: 289 in the 16th Century, 70 in 17th Century, 44 in the 18th Century and 144 in 19th Century. In result of the Spanish–American War, Puerto Rico became U.S. territory. 27 people were executed under American administration during the 20th century. The authorized method of execution was hanging, although in 1900, the American military authorities executed at least five convicted murderers using the

garrotte A garrote or garrote vil (a Spanish word; alternative spellings include garotte and similar variants'' Oxford English Dictionary'', 11th Ed: garrotte is normal British English spelling, with single r alternate. Article title is US English spelli ...

method that was a legacy of Spanish rule. Two men, Arocho y Clemente (Carlos Arocho Guzmán and Jacinto Clemente Echevarría) were sentenced for the rape and murder of a 13-year-old girl. At the time, it was one of the worst crimes in the annals of Puerto Rico crime history. The death penalty sentence on Arocho was appealed and made its way to the

U.S. Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

, only to be upheld. They were both hanged on June 27, 1927. The last person executed in Puerto Rico was Pascual Ramos, hanged for murder in 1927. Two years later, in 1929, the

Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico The Legislative Assembly of Puerto Rico ( es, Asamblea Legislativa de Puerto Rico) is the territorial legislature of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, responsible for the legislative branch of the government of Puerto Rico. The Assembly is a b ...

abolished the death penalty. The Puerto Rico's constitution expressly states that "The death penalty shall not exist." Despite these provisions, the death penalty can and has been sought for federal crimes committed in Puerto Rico. This has been done under the federal government jurisdiction, for people tried and convicted in federal court.

References

{{CapPun-US P Human rights in Puerto Rico

History

See also

References