On this day, July 31, in 1936

 Pedro Albizu Campos, president of the Puerto Rico Nationalist Party, was charged with trying to overthrow the government and sentenced to 6 to 10 years in prison. Albizu had dedicated his life to the liberation and decolonization of Puerto Rico. In 1950, he was arrested again and sentenced to a 72-year prison term, part of which he served in the US. While locked up, he claimed that he was subject to dangerous and painful radiation experiments that the US was conducting illegally in Puerto Rico. The American government consistently denied Albizu’s accusation and claimed that he was insane, but his health condition continued to mysteriously deteriorate until he died in prison 15 years later.