Re: [Marxism] Feds planning first executions in 80 years in Puerto Rico

["Carlos A. Rivera" <cerejota@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Fred Feldman" <ffeldman@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>

> Murder case unites Puerto Ricans against death penalty
> Capital  punishment prohibited on island, but Washington says federal
> crimes an exception.

I was actually in Puerto Rico over the weekend, on a work-then-pleasure trip
(havent been there in 6 months). Besides anti-war and all those other issues
we are involved with by default on account of being red as a baboon's ass,
the Big Things on the left there right now are a Student's strike which is
led by the left in spite the left *opposing* it as strategically unsound,
the opposition to a Marriot resort development which is stealing public
beaches (by law and constititution beaches are public domain) and this death
penalty case.

I attended a relatively big demo sunday in front of the Federal Court. Had
about 200 people, roughly equivalent to 2,000 in NYC. It was nice to see.

This is not the first challenge on part of the Federal Court system to the
PR consitution, but it is the first that seems to have a chance to win. In
Puerto Rico polls are consistent in placing an overwhelming opposition to
the Death Penalty never lower than 60% and as high as 80% against it (it
apparently varies with which ever is the latest gruesome murder on tv).

And this is a very complex case for marxists in Puerto Rico. We are
generally very adverse at defending colonial laws, such as the Constitution
of the Commonwealth, yet on the other hand we recognize that it is the
defacto law of the land and the Socialists and Communists were instrumental,
backed up by social struggles at the time, of some of its very advanced
sections, such as the explicit prohibition of the death penalty.

Furthermore, some are not opposed to the death penalty on principle, just
for nationalist reasons (ie support it in Cuba).

So it is not a simple matter.

I oppose the death penalty on principle, simply because I oppose anything
that absolute. At least if you send someone to jail, you have the chnace to
make some ammends as a society if it turns out to be a mistake. Death,
needless to say, its final.

And since I mentioned Cuba, there have been less death sentences carried out
in Cuba in the last 40 years than there where in Texas in the bloodiest
year. Furthermore, there has not been a single woman or person less than 20
years old to whom the death penalty has been applied since January 1st, 1959
(according to MINREX).

> Puerto Rico's last execution was  in 1927 when a farm worker was hanged
> for beheading his boss with a  machete.

He has a name, Pascual Ramos.

He was a cause celebre among the pro-Statehood, social-democrat, but very
workerist, Socialist Party of Puerto Rico and his case led to the moratorium
on the death penalty in PR and then the Constitutional prohibition in 1952.

Except for keeping Puerto Rico as a colony, the 1952 constitution is so
advanced, it has only been ammended once (to give 18 year olds the right to
vote, and lower some age requirements for elective positions).

Its "Bill of Rights" is not an ammendment, and its first section (or
clause?) establishes not only that any sort of discrimination based upon
race, color, gender, birth place, social class, or political ideas, but that
public education must abide by these rules.

Section 5 not only guaratees the righ to public education, but explicitly
prohibits using public funds for private schooling.

Section 7 bans the death penalty, and prohibits the total embargoing of
property for reasons of debt, among other things. These two things are
directly related to the Pascual Ramos case.

Section 10 prohibits interception of telephone communications. (This has
been violated by the FBI, but attempts by commonwealth police to use FBI
wiretap evidence in commonwealth courts have faced the explicit
constitutional ban on using such evidence)

A so-so translation:

http://www.elboricua.com/BKConstitution.html

sks



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