Information from Ecuador indicates Nelson Serrano hospitalized with terminal illness

Information from Serrano’s family and attorney in Ecuador indicates Serrano is currently in a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, suffering from a terminal condition.

Nelson Serrano has been on Florida’s death row since 2007. He is 85 years-old and set to turn 86 in September. Information from Serrano’s family and attorney in Ecuador indicates Serrano is currently in a hospital in Jacksonville, Florida, suffering from a terminal condition.¹

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Background

Nelson Serrano was sentenced to death for crimes that occurred in 1997 following the jury’s recommendations for death by a vote of 9-3 on four counts of first-degree murder. He was in his late 50s at the time of the crime and has always maintained his innocence.

The Florida Supreme Court originally affirmed his sentences of death on direct appeal in 2011.² In 2017, Serrano was granted a new penalty phase in light of Hurst.³ His new penalty phase remains pending.

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Serrano’s Condition

A Forbes article written by Serrano’s attorney published on July 19 said:

Nelson Serrano is dying in a hospital bed in Jacksonville, Florida. He has a brain tumor that has left him bedridden, on the verge of unconsciousness, and with several silent blood clots that are accumulating in his legs and are on their way to his heart. The situation is hopeless, the doctors have said.

NOTE: The quote above is the translated version of the information from the article, which is in Spanish.

The article further states that Serrano’s family did not learn of his condition from the prison but, instead, from another prisoner at Raiford who called the family to advise them of Serrano’s condition.

A Twitter account run by Serrano’s family posted similar information on July 19:

Serrano has a brain tumor, he became unconscious without medical assistance, nobody from Raiford prison notified Nelson's family, they found out thanks to the call of another prisoner, Nelson is in the hospital, he has a brain tumor that has left him prostrate, on the verge of unconsciousness, and with several silent clots that accumulate in his legs and are on their way to the heart. The situation is irremediable, the doctors have said.

On Monday, July 22, the account posted that “Ecuadorian Nelson Serrano is dying in a Florida hospital,” and “his children ask[ed] Governor Ron DeSantis to let them be by his side in his last hours of life.” Serrano’s son was interviewed on the news in Ecuador on July 22, and the video (which is in Spanish) can be found here.

Yesterday evening, an account for Francisco Serrano (Serrano’s son) posted that “Ecuador sent a letter to Gov DeSantis this morning requesting clemency so Nelson Serrano’s family can be by his side immediately.”

Serrano is still listed on the Florida Department of Corrections (DOC) death row roster. As pictured below, the DOC Inmate Search shows his sentence as pending because he was granted a new penalty phase in 2017, which remains pending. The docket indicates a status conference is set for August 16.

1. Jacksonville is about an hour from Raiford, where Union Correctional Institution is located. NOTE that I have done my best to verify the information in this post, but DOC does not report when a prisoner is in the hospital. The information has mostly come from news articles and social media.

2. Serrano v. State, 64 So. 3d 93 (2011).

3. For a full explanation of Hurst, see the five-part TFDP series available here.