Francisco Molina del Rio
Biography
Francisco Molina del Rio was a Cuban worker and supporter of the Cuban Revolution imprisoned in New York after a fatal shooting during a fight between pro- and anti-Castro groups at the El Prado restaurant in September 1960. His lawyers and the Committee to Defend Francisco Molina charged that political prejudice, exclusionary jury selection and restrictions on cross-examination prevented a fair trial. He was convicted of second-degree murder and assault in April 1961 and sentenced to twenty years to life that June.
National Guardian, April 3, 1961: Joanne Grant reports that Molina, aged twenty-eight, lost his right hand in a 1955 industrial accident and sometimes wore a mechanical replacement. Following his October 14, 1960 arrest, she says correction officials blocked consultation with his chosen counsel for eleven days by refusing their interpreter. She dates the indictment October 19 and actual trial opening March 15, 1961 after an earlier March 7 setting. The defense challenged the all-white, all-male jury and unsuccessfully sought postponement and a mistrial. Testimony concerning pressure on witnesses Rosa Morales and Nelson Alvarez and claims of CIA involvement remain attributed to witnesses or the defense, not adjudicated findings. The ongoing trial is not confused with its later conviction. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/national-guardian/1961-04-03-13-25-nat-guardian.pdf#page=4
The April 17, 1961 National Guardian identifies Molina as twenty-nine at the time of reporting and says he lost his natural arm in a 1955 industrial accident and sometimes wore a prosthesis. It dates his grand-jury indictment five days after his October 14, 1960 arrest, indicating October 19. His sister Carmen protested the verdict. The defense committee alleged that witness Rosita Morales received reassurance about a pending narcotics sentence, Nelson Alvarez faced a deportation threat, and a federal agency intervened to restrict questions about anti-Castro activities; the committee identified that agency as the CIA. These remain attributed defense allegations. The announced May 26 sentencing was prospective and does not replace the later actual June sentencing. Source: https://www.marxists.org/history/usa/pubs/national-guardian/1961-04-17-13-27-nat-guardian.pdf#page=8
Francisco Molina del Rio was a Cuban worker and supporter of the Cuban Revolution imprisoned in New York after a fatal shooting during a fight between pro- and anti-Castro groups at the El Prado restaurant in September 1960. His lawyers and the Committee to Defend Francisco Molina charged that political prejudice, exclusionary jury selection and restrictions on cross-examination prevented a fair trial. He was convicted of second-degree murder and assault in April 1961 and sentenced to twenty years to life that June.
Original contemporary source 1 ; Original contemporary source 2 ; Original contemporary source 3 ; Original contemporary source 4 ; Original contemporary source 5.
Molina was taken into custody on October 14, 1960. Contemporary accounts said he was unable to consult his lawyers with an interpreter for the next eleven days, independently establishing confinement rather than an arrest alone. A jury convicted him on April 7, 1961; sentencing was postponed from May 26 to June 22 and ultimately occurred in June, according to the New York Court of Appeals. He was held at Sing Sing and later Green Haven. The governor signed a commutation in March 1963, but that order was not his release: he left Green Haven in immigration custody on April 22 and was deported to Cuba that same day. The April 30, 1964 Court of Appeals decision treated his departure as abandonment of his appeal; the conviction was not vacated. Source-reported institutions: Sing Sing, Green Haven Correctional Facility.
