An Appeal Court of the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico recent­ly held that it would be uncon­sti­tu­tion­al to extra­dite Juan Melendez Cruz to Pennsylvania if he faces a pos­si­ble death sen­tence. The court referred to the issue as one involv­ing the fun­da­men­tal right to life. In July 2003, Philadelphia District Attorney spokes­woman Cathie Abookire con­firmed that Melendez Cruz, a Puerto Rican native, could face the death penal­ty in Pennsylvania. Melendez Cruz’s attor­ney, Eileen Diaz, argued that extra­di­tion of her client under such cir­cum­stances is pro­hib­it­ed by the Puerto Rican con­sti­tu­tion. The Attorney General of Puerto Rico plans to appeal the deci­sion to the Puerto Rican Supreme Court. (Primera Hora, ​“Apelativo rat­i­fi­ca rec­ha­zo a pena cap­i­tal: Extradicion suje­ta a garan­tia de vida del reo,” October 21, 2005).

Puerto Rico abol­ished the death penal­ty in 1929. In 1952, when Puerto Rico draft­ed and rat­i­fied its own con­sti­tu­tion, the Bill of Rights includ­ed the decree that ​“the death penal­ty shall not exist.” Because of Puerto Rico’s sta­tus as a Commonwealth of the United States, it is sub­ject to some fed­er­al laws, and the U.S. has recent­ly sought the death penal­ty on fed­er­al charges in a num­ber of cas­es. However, no death sen­tences have result­ed. Read addi­tion­al infor­ma­tion about Puerto Rico and the Death Penalty.

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