10 process” that “absolutely prohibits the re-establishment of capital punishment for any crime, so that the decision of a State Party to the Convention, whensoever it was adopted, to abolish the death penalty becomes, ipso jure, a final and irrevocable decision.” The Convention “is clearly of a progressive nature; thus, without going so far as to decide on the abolition of the death penalty, it adopts the necessary provisions to definitively limit its application and its scope, so that its use is gradually reduced until it is finally eliminated.” In this way, if the death penalty was eliminated from the law for the crime of murder, it cannot be reinstated for that crime.25 33. Moreover, in this Court's February 6, 2019, order, it noted that, at the date of the State’s most recent report “there were no prisoners sentenced to death [in Guatemala], and capital punishment had not been applied since 2002 […] [, and it took] note […] [of the] general suspension of the application of this punishment linked to compliance with the measure of reparation [established in the judgment in this case] related to the obligation to regulate commutations of sentence in [its] jurisdiction.”26 B. Personal circumstances of Manuel Martínez Coronado and facts concerning his criminal trial and execution B.1. Personal circumstances of Manuel Martínez Coronado 34. Manuel Martínez Coronado, born in the town of Pozas Limón in Guatemala, lived at the time of the events in the town of El Palmar in the municipality of Quezaltepeque in the department of Chiquimula.27 His family comprised his wife Manuela Girón 28 and their three children.29 B.2. Facts concerning the criminal trial and execution of Manuel Martínez Coronado 35. Manuel Martínez Coronado and Mr. DA, his adoptive father, were accused of murdering seven people in the town of El Palmar; the events took place on May 16, 1995. 30 36. The criminal trial began on May 17, 1995, with an order issued by the justice of the peace of Quezaltepeque in the Departament of Chiquimula to gather at the location of the events, where the site was inspected and the inspection was recorded. Afterward, an order to capture Messrs. Martínez Coronado and DA was issued.31 On May 18, 1995, initial statement proceedings took place with Mr. Martínez, in which he indicated that he had limited financial resources and desired to be assigned a public defender. As he did not have a defense counsel, he would not make a statement, so the proceedings were halted.32 On May 19, 1995, the initial statement of Mr. Martínez Coronado 25 13. 26 8. Cf. Case of Fermín Ramírez v. Guatemala. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment, supra, considering paragraph Cf. Case of Fermín Ramírez v. Guatemala. Monitoring Compliance with Judgment, supra, considering paragraph Cf. Judgment of the Criminal, Drug Trafficking, and Environmental Crimes Court in Chiquimula on October 26, 1995 (evidence file in Merits Report, annex 1, folios 2 to 26; ESAP annexes, annex 1, folios 963 to 987, and annexes to the answering brief, annex 16, folios 2202 to 2235). 28 Cf. Civil Registry. Certificate of marriage between Manuel Martínez Coronado and Manuela Girón, issued on March 2, 2018 (ESAP evidence file, annex 35, folio 2004), and news article published in the newspaper Al día on February 10, 1998, with the title “Death chamber wedding vows” (ESAP evidence file, annex 19, folio 1154). 29 At the time of the events, Manuel Martínez and Manuela Girón had three children: Rony Israel (age six), Irma Yojana (age four), and Marleny (age two). Cf. Statement by Rony Disrael Martínez Girón by affidavit before the Court (evidence file, affidavits and expert opinions, folios 2358 to 2363). However, neither the wife nor the children of Martínez Coronado have been deemed alleged victims in this case pursuant to Article 35(1) of the Rules of Procedure (supra para. 19). 30 Cf. Judgment of the Criminal, Drug Trafficking, and Environmental Crimes Court in Chiquimula on October 26, 1995 (evidence file in Merits Report, annex 1, folios 2 to 26). 31 Cf. Site inspection record of May 17, 1995, issued by the justice of the peace of the town of El Palmar, Municipality of Quezaltepeque, Department of Chiquimula (evidence file with the answering brief, annex 2, folios 2049 to 2059). 32 Cf. Initial statement of Manuel Martínez Coronado on May 18, 1995, before the justice of the peace of Chiquimula (evidence file with the answering brief, annex 4, folios 2068 to 2070). 27