Was an innocent man executed?

One argument against the death penalty focuses on the possibility of executing an innocent person. A number of individuals have been  proven innocent and exonerated after serving time on death row. Questions have been raised in a number of cases where executions have taken place.

The case of Carlos DeLuna is often cited as one such instance. DeLuna was convicted of murdering Wanda Lopez in a February 1983 robbery in Corpus Christi. The jury sentenced him to death. The state of Texas executed him in December 1989.

DeLuna maintained his innocence from the time of his arrest to the time of his execution. He maintained that Carlos Hernandez committed the murder. Doubts about his guilt have persisted. In 2006, a series in the Chicago Tribune explored those doubts, positing that “New evidence suggests a 1989 execution in Texas was a case of mistaken identity.”

This week, the Columbia Human Rights Law Review  (at Columbia University) published and posted its Spring 2012 issue. The issue features a single piece of work about the murder of Wanda Lopez, Carlos DeLuna, and Carlos Hernandez: “Los Tocayos Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution.” James S. Liebman, Shawn Crowley, Andrew Markquart, Lauren Rosenberg, Lauren Gallo White, Lauren Rosenberg and Daniel Zharkovsky authored the book-length piece. I understand that Los Tacayos can be translated from Spanish as “namesakes.” Beyond sharing the first name, the two men (DeLuna and Hernandez) apparently have a striking physical resemblance to each other.

It promises to be an important article. The Columbia Human Rights Law Review notes that as part of the reason for devoting the issue to the one article.

Should DeLuna’s innocence be proved, will that make a difference in the effort to abolish the death penalty? I am among those who hope so. However, significant doubt has been cast on the guilt of Cameron Todd Willingham, convicted of murder and executed for the deaths of his three young children by arson at the family home in Corsicana, Texas in 2004. The struggle continues. I look forward to reading Los Tocayos Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution and to seeing how it contributes to that struggle.

See you along the Trail.