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Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas?

By Jeralyn, Section Innocence Cases
Posted on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 03:51:50 PM EST
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Copyright 2006, Chicago Tribune.

Carlos de Luna was texecuted in December, 1989. A new investigation by ace Chicago Tribune reporters Maurice Possley and Steve Mills, in the three part series Did This Man Die for...This Man's Crime begins today and shows another man confessed to the murder and other evidence points to de Luna's innocence.

Part One of the series is here.

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    Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? | 7 comments (7 topical)
    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#1)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 07:38:56 AM EST
    Government cannot even deliver my mail accurately. How can we expect it to be 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time, when it comes to apprehending people, trying them and sentencing them to death without error? And if we are not 100 percent accurate, 100 percent of the time, what does it say about our values when we execute an innocent person? And remember: this is not the first. In the past 19 months, news has emerged about three other executions of innocents -- Cameron Todd Willingham and Ruben Cantu of Texas and Larry Griffin of Missouri. Enough already.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#2)
    by HK on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 08:50:42 AM EST
    Carlos De Luna was convicted and executed based on one nighttime eyewitness account. There was no physical evidence linking De Luna to the crime. Despite a bloody crime scene typical of a stabbing death, not a drop of blood was found on De Luna, even though he was arrested within an hour of the crime. There were no fingerprints found at the crime scene that matched De Luna's.
    I don't know what you have read that leads you to believe this guy was a slimeball (conveniently, you don't provide quotes or links) but from what I've read, he was a scared young man with learning difficulties who was in the wrong place at the wrong time. I find it sick and incomprehensible that you think that it was okay for him to be executed.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#3)
    by HK on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 12:49:21 PM EST
    We can read - but I don't think you understand what you wrote. Your two points as outlined above are contradictory. You are saying that he should not be executed, but you don't care that he was. BTW, the background you give supports the notion that De Luna was a troubled man with learning difficulties and a questionable mental state.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#4)
    by Talkleft Visitor on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 01:17:42 PM EST
    Labyrinthe- look at it like this- If he were still alive I would not want to see him executed, but he is dead and I am glad he will not be around to rape any more women or worse. Some of the other cases are indeed troubling, but this just isn't.
    Well, on the off chance that you are ever executed for a crime that you didn't commit, I'll try to remember that as long as you lived a life that I didn't approve of, it is not anything to lose sleep over. Excuse me if I don't pass your lesson in life along to any impressionable young people.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#5)
    by HK on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 01:48:15 PM EST
    he is dead and I am glad he will not be around to rape any more women or worse
    Execution is supposed to be justice, not form of pre-emptive self-defence. Just for the record, I am a woman and ignorance worries me more than rape.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#6)
    by Al on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 12:11:09 AM EST
    How would anyone know if the death penalty worked? (rogan1313)
    By looking at the statistics, obviously, and thinking rationally, although this should be undertaken with the utmost care: There is the danger that your brain might explode.

    Re: Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? (none / 0) (#7)
    by HK on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 01:56:33 AM EST
    On the other hand, if de luna were paroled or released again and his likely antisocial personality led to his killing an innocent woman rather than merely breaking her ribs, we'd never see it posted on Talk Left.
    Alternatively, if he had been treated for his apparent deficiencies, maybe he would not have committed any crimes in the first place. Since we're speculating. And if you think this site is so lacking, why don't you go and create your own?

    Was the Wrong Man Executed in Texas? | 7 comments (7 topical)