Eleuterio Sánchez

Eleuterio Sánchez Rodríguez (born 15 April 1942), known as El Lute, was at one time listed as Spain's "Most Wanted" criminal and later became a published writer. He was a legendary Spanish outlaw who escaped several times from prison after being convicted at age 23 of murder and sentenced to 30 years. He was only 19 and was sentenced to die. While in prison, he learned to read, earned a law degree, and became a writer, continuing to protest his innocence of the charges. He was pardoned and released on June 20, 1981, at the age of 39.

He published two memoirs, Camina o revienta (Walk or Die) (1977) and Mañana seré libre (Tomorrow I'll Be Free) (1979), while he was still in prison. These were later adapted as a two-part film series on his life directed by Vicente Aranda and released in 1987 and 1988.

Early life and education

Eleuterio Sánchez Rodríguez was born in 1942 in Salamanca, in western Spain. He was born into a desperately poor merchero peasant family while his father was in prison. He never received any formal education as a child and was illiterate.

Life

Early life

Sánchez and his family suffered discrimination as poor mercheros, who were nomadic craftsmen earning money as tinkers. They were often considered suspect by police and forced to move on. He married a young woman, Chelo, and they had a daughter. As a young man, he stole two hens and was sentenced to six months in prison.

Soon after his release, in 1965 Sánchez was arrested and convicted of murder for the armed robbery of a jewelry store in Madrid, in which a security guard was killed. At the age of 23, he was sentenced to death for the robbery and murder and also received "sentences totaling 1,000 years for other crimes". His death sentence was commuted to 30 years in a military prison.