Pedro Medina
Encyclopedia
Pedro Luis Medina was a Cuba
n refugee who was executed by the state of Florida
for the murder of a 52-year-old woman in Orlando
. The circumstances of his execution elevated objections to the use of electrocution
as a means of capital punishment
.
during the 1980 Mariel boatlift
. He eventually lived with his half-sister in Orlando. His victim, Dorothy James, an elementary school gym teacher, lived in an apartment next door. James befriended Medina.
James was found dead in her apartment on April 4, 1982. She had been gagged, stabbed multiple times, and left to die. Early in the morning of April 8, 1982, Medina was found asleep in James' automobile at a rest stop on Interstate 10 near Lake City and was arrested for theft of the automobile. The next day, detectives from Orange County
investigating the murder of James interviewed Medina in the Columbia County Jail about the auto theft and the murder. Medina's explanation of how he came to be in James' vehicle was not believed by the detectives. Medina was arrested and indicted for the murder of James.
Medina requested a psychiatric examination and was examined by two psychiatrists. Each determined that Medina met the statutory criteria for competence to stand trial. The trial court found Medina competent to stand trial.
Medina was tried before a jury in Orange County on March 15 through 18, 1983. Medina testified in his own defense and denied murdering James. However, Medina admitted being in James' apartment the night of the murder and that he was in James' apartment when James was dead. Medina also admitted that a hat found by police detectives on a bed near James' body was his hat and that he took James' automobile after she was murdered. Medina admitted driving James' automobile to Tampa and offering to sell the automobile to a man with whom he engaged in a fight at the time of the attempted sale. The man to whom Medina was selling the automobile testified that he gave Medina $250 for the automobile, but then Medina left with the automobile. When law enforcement officers searched the vehicle following Medina's arrest, a knife was found in the vehicle.
Medina was convicted of first-degree murder and auto theft. The jury, by a ten-to-two vote, recommended the death penalty for the murder conviction. The trial court found two aggravating circumstances and a single mitigating circumstance. The court found the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstance and sentenced Medina to death. This Court affirmed Medina's convictions and sentences. (Medina v. State, 466 So.2d 1046 (Fla.1985)).
He was sent to death row
at Florida State Prison
near the town of Starke in 1982. Medina's last words before being executed on March 25, 1997, were, "I am still innocent." During the administration of electrical current, the electric chair
known as "Old Sparky
" malfunctioned, causing flames to shoot out of Medina's head.
, another death row
inmate, that argued that the electric chair was a cruel and unusual punishment
. During the proceedings, Glen Dickson, Medina's pastor, testified that he saw the flames rising out of Medina's head, smelled an acrid smell and saw Medina take three labored breaths after the electrical current to the chair had been turned off and the strap holding him in it had been loosened.
Patricia McCusker, Assistant Superintendent of the Work Camp at Florida State Prison, also testified. She said she saw Medina's left hand tighten as the current was being applied. She corroborated Dickson's observation of smoke and flames coming from Medina's head and a smell, which she said was a burning smell.
McCusker stated that she also saw movements in Medina's chest after the current had been turned off, but claimed it was contractions of the chest muscle that did not imply breathing.
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
n refugee who was executed by the state of Florida
Florida
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...
for the murder of a 52-year-old woman in Orlando
Orlando, Florida
Orlando is a city in the central region of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat of Orange County, and the center of the Greater Orlando metropolitan area. According to the 2010 US Census, the city had a population of 238,300, making Orlando the 79th largest city in the United States...
. The circumstances of his execution elevated objections to the use of electrocution
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
as a means of capital punishment
Capital punishment
Capital punishment, the death penalty, or execution is the sentence of death upon a person by the state as a punishment for an offence. Crimes that can result in a death penalty are known as capital crimes or capital offences. The term capital originates from the Latin capitalis, literally...
.
Crime
Medina was among nearly 125,000 Cubans who were sent to the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
during the 1980 Mariel boatlift
Mariel boatlift
The Mariel boatlift was a mass emigration of Cubans who departed from Cuba's Mariel Harbor for the United States between April 15 and October 31, 1980....
. He eventually lived with his half-sister in Orlando. His victim, Dorothy James, an elementary school gym teacher, lived in an apartment next door. James befriended Medina.
James was found dead in her apartment on April 4, 1982. She had been gagged, stabbed multiple times, and left to die. Early in the morning of April 8, 1982, Medina was found asleep in James' automobile at a rest stop on Interstate 10 near Lake City and was arrested for theft of the automobile. The next day, detectives from Orange County
Orange County, Florida
Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida and is part of the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area . As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 1,145,956....
investigating the murder of James interviewed Medina in the Columbia County Jail about the auto theft and the murder. Medina's explanation of how he came to be in James' vehicle was not believed by the detectives. Medina was arrested and indicted for the murder of James.
Medina requested a psychiatric examination and was examined by two psychiatrists. Each determined that Medina met the statutory criteria for competence to stand trial. The trial court found Medina competent to stand trial.
Medina was tried before a jury in Orange County on March 15 through 18, 1983. Medina testified in his own defense and denied murdering James. However, Medina admitted being in James' apartment the night of the murder and that he was in James' apartment when James was dead. Medina also admitted that a hat found by police detectives on a bed near James' body was his hat and that he took James' automobile after she was murdered. Medina admitted driving James' automobile to Tampa and offering to sell the automobile to a man with whom he engaged in a fight at the time of the attempted sale. The man to whom Medina was selling the automobile testified that he gave Medina $250 for the automobile, but then Medina left with the automobile. When law enforcement officers searched the vehicle following Medina's arrest, a knife was found in the vehicle.
Medina was convicted of first-degree murder and auto theft. The jury, by a ten-to-two vote, recommended the death penalty for the murder conviction. The trial court found two aggravating circumstances and a single mitigating circumstance. The court found the aggravating circumstances outweighed the mitigating circumstance and sentenced Medina to death. This Court affirmed Medina's convictions and sentences. (Medina v. State, 466 So.2d 1046 (Fla.1985)).
He was sent to death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
at 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...
near the town of Starke in 1982. Medina's last words before being executed on March 25, 1997, were, "I am still innocent." During the administration of electrical current, the electric chair
Electric chair
Execution by electrocution, usually performed using an electric chair, is an execution method originating in the United States in which the condemned person is strapped to a specially built wooden chair and electrocuted through electrodes placed on the body...
known as "Old Sparky
Old Sparky
Old Sparky is the nickname of the electric chairs in Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Kentucky, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, New York, Texas, and Virginia. It was the nickname of the long-retired electric chair at the now-closed West Virginia State Penitentiary in Moundsville, West...
" malfunctioned, causing flames to shoot out of Medina's head.
Controversy
In 1999, the state of Florida heard a petition from Thomas Harrison ProvenzanoThomas Harrison Provenzano
Thomas Harrison Provenzano was a convicted murderer executed by means of lethal injection by the state of Florida...
, another death row
Death row
Death row signifies the place, often a section of a prison, that houses individuals awaiting execution. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of awaiting execution , even in places where no special facility or separate unit for condemned inmates exists.After individuals are found...
inmate, that argued that the electric chair was a cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment
Cruel and unusual punishment is a phrase describing criminal punishment which is considered unacceptable due to the suffering or humiliation it inflicts on the condemned person...
. During the proceedings, Glen Dickson, Medina's pastor, testified that he saw the flames rising out of Medina's head, smelled an acrid smell and saw Medina take three labored breaths after the electrical current to the chair had been turned off and the strap holding him in it had been loosened.
Patricia McCusker, Assistant Superintendent of the Work Camp at Florida State Prison, also testified. She said she saw Medina's left hand tighten as the current was being applied. She corroborated Dickson's observation of smoke and flames coming from Medina's head and a smell, which she said was a burning smell.
McCusker stated that she also saw movements in Medina's chest after the current had been turned off, but claimed it was contractions of the chest muscle that did not imply breathing.
External links
- MEDINA v. STATE - Florida Supreme Court
- IN RE: Pedro MEDINA -- U.S. 11th Circuit Court
- August 3, 1999 Order Upholding Constitutionality of the Electric Chair
- Florida Has Executed 56 Inmates Since 1979. Floridians for Alternatives to the Death Penalty (2003-05-16). Retrieved on 2007-11-14.
- Inmate Release Information Detail - Inmate 088991. 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 2008-05-29.