Manuel Martínez Coronado

Manuel Martínez Coronado (1964 or 1965 – February 10, 1998) was a Guatemalan mass murderer, convicted for the killing of seven people on 17 May 1995. Coronado was sentenced to death for the murders, and was executed in 1998, the first execution by lethal injection in Guatemala.[1]

Background

Manuel Martínez Coronado was a member of the Chortí ethnic group who worked as a peasant farmer.[2]

Murders

Coronado murdered seven members of the same family on 17 May 1995.[3][4] However, Amnesty International stated that there was evidence to suggest his stepfather may have been the real killer.

Arrest and execution

Coronado was arrested and charged with multiple counts of homicide. Following a brief trial, he became the first Guatemalan to be sentenced to death by means of lethal injection (which had recently been legalized by the government). Despite pleas from Amnesty International to overturn the verdict, the Guatemalan authorities ruled that his sentence would be upheld.[5] The execution took place at 6 am (12:00 - GMT) on February 10, 1998, and was broadcast live as a national television event. It took eighteen minutes for him to die from the onset of drug administration; the sounds of his wife and children crying could be heard by the television audience throughout the ordeal..[6]

Criticism

Amnesty International, which had protested his death sentence, complained that doctors carrying out the execution was a "breach of medical ethics" and that Guatemalan authorities refused to release the identities of the healthcare workers who carried out the execution.[7][8]

See also

Other executions

References
  1. Zubieta, Celina (February 10, 1998). "GUATEMALA: Prisoner Killed by Lethal Injection". Inter Press Service. Archived from the original on April 30, 2017. Retrieved April 30, 2017.
  2. "AI Index: AMR 34/23/00." Amnesty International. Retrieved on March 3, 2016.
  3. Amnesty International- Rapid Medical action- Manuel Martinez Coronado
  4. En la historia nacional Archived 2009-06-03 at the Wayback Machine, El Universo (November 21, 2007)
  5. Amnesty International- Document- Guatemala: Further information on Medical letter writing action: Lethal Injection
  6. "Guatemala: Further Information On Death Penalty: Manuel Martinez Coronado". www.amnesty.org. February 10, 1998. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  7. "Guatemala: Rapid Medical Action: Manuel Martinez Coronado". www.amnesty.org. February 6, 1998. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
  8. "Guatemala: Further Information On Medical Letter Writing Action: Lethal Injection". www.amnesty.org. May 12, 1998. Retrieved 2017-09-29.
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