On Veterans Day, the Death Penalty Information Center will release a new report about veterans and the death penalty, exploring the lasting effects of military service and explaining why military experiences matter when veterans interact with the legal system. This article shares the story of one death-sentenced veteran, Frederick Mendoza.
Frederick Mendoza enlisted in the Marine Corps in 1967 as a basic rifleman and served over 18 months in Vietnam. He was on the front lines of some of the most horrific combat, participating in long range patrols where his unit was attacked by ground troops and snipers. In recognition, he was awarded the Republic of Vietnam Cross for bravery in combat, and the Combat Operation Ribbon.
On death rows across the United States, at least 200 military veterans await execution — one of every seven executed people in the modern death penalty era has been a veteran.
As the Vietnam war came to a close in 1975, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) was not yet recognized by the psychiatric community as a specific diagnosis. Recognition and study of Vietnam veterans’ psychological distress led to early diagnoses like “Vietnam Syndrome” and “Post-Vietnam Syndrome,” which in turn led to the development of the official PTSD diagnosis.
Like many other Vietnam veterans, Mr. Mendoza returned home but was haunted by the war. He developed hallucinations and intrusive thoughts of Vietnam, causing outbursts and resulting in bar fights. He self-medicated by drinking heavily and began using methamphetamines, eventually attempting suicide twice. The Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) assigned him a 100 percent disability rating due to his Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), which meant he suffered from total occupational and social impairment as a result of his military experience.
In 2007, Mr. Mendoza was arrested and charged with sexual assault and murder, and prosecutors sought a death sentence. His pretrial hearings were infected with due process violations, prosecutorial misconduct, and mishandled DNA evidence. Three Latine people were preemptively excluded from serving on the jury by the prosecution. Mr. Mendoza also did not have the effective assistance of a competent lawyer. Before the guilt phase of his trial began, Mr. Mendoza plead guilty, following the advice of his counsel who assured him that the jury would be less likely to impose a punishment of death during the sentencing phase if he entered a guilty plea.
Mr. Mendoza’s counsel then failed him again by not preparing adequately for the penalty phase of this capital trial. While defense counsel did tell the jury that Mr. Mendoza was a Vietnam veteran who had PTSD, he presented few meaningful details about Mr. Mendoza’s actual experience, or the extent and effects of Mr. Mendoza’s mental illness. For her part, the trial prosecutor told the jury not to consider Mr. Mendoza’s PTSD diagnosis as mitigating, indicating that her own grandfather had been mentally affected by war but had nevertheless successfully reintegrated into society. The prosecutor also improperly invoked the “equal and exact justice” instruction, suggesting that the jury should not show Mr. Mendoza mercy because he showed no mercy to his victim. The jury, without any meaningful information about the specifics of Mr. Mendoza’s combat service and the nature of his mental illness, sentenced him to death.
After years of legal appeals, a judge in 2018 approved an agreement to resentence Mr. Mendoza to life without parole. Mr. Mendoza was 71 years old at the time of the agreement.
“The jury heard evidence of Fred’s PTSD-based 100% disability rating, but few specifics about the terrible events Fred endured as a Marine with 18+ months of combat service in Vietnam,” Mr. Mendoza’s attorney said. “This, combined with many other errors including those related to DNA evidence, caused his death sentence to be fundamentally unreliable. This hard-fought and extremely rare agreement helps treat a combat veteran fairly.”
Mr. Mendoza died in prison on January 8, 2021. He was 74 years old.
Mendoza v. State 381 P.3d 641 (2012); Scott Sonnera, Nevada Judge Vacates Death Sentence for Vietnam Vet, Associated Press, June 29, 2018; Convict Solutions, Vietnam Veteran’s Death Sentence Vacated by Court, (2018); Death Penalty Information Center, Battle scars: Military veterans and the Death Penalty, (2015); David Ferrara, Death Sentence Vacated for Las Vegas Veteran in Rape, Murder, Las Vegas Review-Journal, June 28, 2018.
