In 1986, a twentysixyearold man named carlos deluna was executed in texas for the murder of a conveniencestore clerk. Shawn crowley, andrew markquart, lauren rosenberg, lauren gallo. Reflections on capital punishment northwestern pritzker school of. Wrongful executions national coalition to abolish the. He has received the norman redlich capital defense distinguished service. Innocence as a result of dna testing, it has been possible to demonstrate that a number of people who had been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and. That is what happened in the carlos deluna case, which drew no attention at the time and remained in neartotal obscurity until professor james liebman. Carlos deluna was executed in texas in 1989 for the stabbing death of. So weve decided to keep guardian journalism free for all readers. Liebman and a group of students discovered evidence that in 1989 carlos deluna was wrongfully executed in texas for a murder actually committed by another man, carlos hernandez, who not only shared delunas name but also resembled him in appearance. Carlos deluna was arrested, aged 20, on 4 february 1983 for the brutal murder of. Olivia escobedo this is the interview of olivia escobedo, done by tamara theiss, at the request of professor jim liebman, columbia university, on february 27, 2005.
Citing carlos deluna, protesters call on dallas da craig. Meanwhile, carlos hernandez, who the prosecution called a phantom and refused to pursue, remained free. Carlos deluna was an american man who was convicted of murder and executed by the state. Capital punishment can cause serious and irreparable. Carlos deluna texas coalition to abolish the death penalty. An anatomy of a wrongful execution, is based on six. Liebman, shawn crowley, andrew markquart, lauren rosenberg, lauren gallo white, and daniel zharkovsky 43 colum.
He has argued five cases in front of the united states supreme court in those areas and many others in lower federal and state courts. The compelling booklength report documents police incompetence, disregarded evidence, flawed eyewitness identification and a code of silence that left the real killer free to. In 1989, texas executed carlos deluna, a poor hispanic man with childlike intelligence, for the murder of wanda lopez, a convenience store clerk. In 1989, texas executed carlos deluna, a poor hispanic man with childlike intelligence, for the murder of wanda lopez. Liebman, shawn crowley, andrew markquart, lauren rosenberg, lauren gallo white. The book sets out in precise and shocking detail how an innocent man was sent to his death on 8 december 1989, courtesy of the state of texas. An anatomy of a wrongful execution, dedicating the. Anatomy of a wrongful execution, traces the facts surrounding the february 1983 murder of wanda lopez, a single mother who was stabbed in the gas station. An anatomy of a wrongful execution sheds new light on the case of carlos. Difficulty here is npov, but on the other hand readers would best be served to have this information, to make sense of how the debate is going. The story of the execution of a childlike and innocent hispanic man carlos deluna by the state of texas made columbia law school professor james liebman and a team of students write a book. The wrong carlos and this accompanying website help to answer these haunting questions. Carlos deluna was executed in texas in 1989 for the stabbing death of wanda lopez.
March 15, 1962 december 7, 1989 was an american man who was convicted of murder and executed by the state of texas for killing a 24yearold gas station attendant in corpus christi, on the evening of february 4, 1983. Carlos deluna march 15, 1962 december 7, 1989 was an american man who was convicted of murder and executed by the state of texas for killing a 24yearold gas station attendant in corpus christi, on the evening of february 4, 1983. Anatomy of a wrongful execution, says, without fully fact checking it, as well as evaluating bias. Based on one of the most thorough investigations of a criminal case in u. Carlos vazquez phone, address, court records zabasearch. The story of the execution of a childlike and innocent hispanic man carlos deluna by the state of texas made columbia law school professor james liebman and a. An anatomy of a wrongful execution, forthcoming as a book, runs 434 pages long, reads like truman capotes in cold blood, and is groundbreaking in its detail and scope. Everything that could possibly go wrong in a death penalty case did so here. Liebman, shawn crowley, andrew markquart, lauren rosenberg, lauren gallo.
Since delunas execution by lethal injection in 1989, doubts have been raised about the conviction and the question of his guilt. Wrongful executions national coalition to abolish the death penalty. The deluna case is one of several texas executions that have been under scrutiny, including that of. This article is brought to you for free and open access by northwestern.
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