User:Ellieduley/sandbox

My article: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/José_Manuel_Mart%C3%ADnez_(serial_killer)

using: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/jos-manuel-mart-nez-hitman-charged-with-nine-murders-claims-he-killed-30-more-people-9252317.html

using: https://www.al.com/news/2018/05/jose_manuel_martinez_ala.html

José Manuel Martínez (born 1962) is a former self-described Mexican drug cartel hitman.[1] Under the nickname El Mano Negra,[1] he has confessed to killing over 35 victims across at least 12 states.[2][3][4][1] Martinez was arrested in June 2013, as he crossed the border form Mexico into Arizona, and admitted to killing up to 40 people since 1980 whilst working for a Mexican drug cartel.

On trial in Florida, whilst already having been sentenced to 10 life sentences, prosecutors planned to give Martinez a death penalty - which he had avoided under prosecutors in Alabama and California. He had already been prosecuted for charges relating to drug offences, burglaries, animal theft and stolen property. The trial lasted 3 weeks, and the jury deliberated for 3 hours before deciding that Martinez would not face the death penalty. The jury consisted of 7 women and 5 men. Whilst on trial in Florida, for 2 additional murders in 2006 (drug-related), Martinez was sentenced to another 2 life sentences. Martinez's defence used family photos in their plea to spare his life, and over a dozen of his family members testified on his behalf, sharing stories describing the sacrifices he made to protect his siblings, and trips to Disneyland where he took his children and grandchildren. His defence lawyer for his Alabama court case, Thomas Turner, described him as "polite and a likeable individual", and another lawyer, John Spivey, said that it came down to 2 visions of Martinez, the "cold killer" vs the "truly dedicated father, uncle, grandfather," and that in the end, "the human side outweighed the monster side". Martinez reacted to his sentencing in Florida by thanking his defence team for their work, with hugs and smiles.