José Manuel Martínez
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José Manuel Martínez, AKA El Mano Negra, is a Mexican-American cartel hitman. He has confessed to 36 murders and is currently serving three life sentences after being convicted of murder in multiple states.
Crimes edit
Martínez was arrested in June 2013 in Alabama for the fatal shooting of Jose Ruiz, a friend of his daughter's boyfriend who had insulted his daughter. He immediately confessed to the crime, and to over 30 other murders across 12 states. According to Martínez most of the murders were connected to Mexican cartels, although some were personal hits, such as the murder of a relative of his brother-in-law for parking in his driveway.
Martínez pleaded guilty to the murder of Jose Ruiz and was sentenced to fifty years in prison. He was then extradited to Florida to face trial for nine other murders. He pleaded guilty in October 2015 and was sentenced to life without parole.
He was extradited a third time to Florida to face trial for the capital charge of the double murder of two men who owed a debt to an unspecified cartel. Martínez had been linked to this murder through a DNA sample left on a drinks can. He was convicted after three weeks in June 2019. After three hours deliberation the jury rejected the prosecution's request for the death penalty and instead sentenced Martínez to two consecutive life sentences.