James Liebman: The TT Interview
Carlos DeLuna always said that it was another man named Carlos who committed the fatal stabbing for which he was convicted and then executed in 1989. No one believed him. The prosecutors said Carlos Hernandez, the man who he claimed was the real perpetrator, didn't exist.
Now, more than two decades after DeLuna's execution, Columbia University law school professor James Liebman and a team of students have uncovered evidence they say proves that Carlos DeLuna was innocent, and that Carlos Hernandez not only was real but was probably the real killer. They released their findings in a book-length ...
Comments (5)
jim ofallon
In looking at the information Dr. Liebman and his staff put together, there certainly is a lot of incompetence that occurred, especially by Detective Escobedo at the crime scene. But one person seems to have gone beyond simple incompetence to outright obstruction, and probably holds as much blame as anyone for the execution of Carlos DeLuna.
Ken Botary, the prosecutor, never said a word when defense attorneys were looking for this "phantom" Carlos Hernandez, even though he KNEW that such a Carlos Hernandez existed, knew him very well, in fact, because this Carlos had killed a woman 4 years earlier. Mr. Botary attempted to pin the blame for that murder on the wrong person, just as he would do in the DeLuna case, and just like in the DeLuna case, he ignored the evidence that said who the killer was, Carlos Hernandez.
Also, the same Mr. Botary checked out all of the forensic evidence from the DeLuna trial after it was ended, supposedly to take it back to the District Attorney's office. It has all magically disappeared. None exists.
So why did Mr. Botary seem to do everything in his power to hide the real killer from being identified? Dr. Liebman speculates that Botary used Carlos Hernandez as an informant, but that certainly is a fair question for someone who is still practicing law in Texas. If he was protecting Carlos Hernandez, then he also deserves some responsibility for all of the victims that Carlos Hernandez assaulted while under his protection.
gypsy314 ne
Who knows any more even DNA can be planted.
Anyone but Obama the fraud and the liar democrats!
Bonnie McGuire
The sad thing is that when this same story was presented on Yahoo, many of the forum posters there dismissed the findings as simply an attempt to ban the death penalty by a liberal professor. Regardless of your views on the death penalty, this is a travesty. I'm not against the death penalty, but I don't think it should be given without a higher degree of certainty of guilt and this would have failed to meet that requirement until Hernandez was investigated thoroughly.
Dale Curry
It has become increasingly clear to me, Texas has a serious problem of sending innocent people to prison and to death. So, from Willingham execution, Morton being found innocent after 25 years, and now de Luna. The list is long and getting longer
@ Gypsy - Still spreading that manure you call a comment? You must be seething as we move towards another 4 years for Obama. Have a nice day!
Dudley Sharp
Carlos DeLuna: Another False Innocence Claim?
Dudley Sharp
No one can, responsibly, accept what the Liebman/DeLuna report says, without fully fact checking it, as well as evaluating bias.
However, we can review the previous record of both Liebman and the anti death penalty movement and assert that a healthy skepticism would be merited and wise.
What happened when folks took the time to fact check Liebman's prior opus, "A Broken System"? Take a look.
"A Broken Study: A Review of 'A Broken System"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2009/10/broken-study-review-of-broken-system.html
Any good anti death penalty defense counsel, as Liebman, can make a convincing case, absent the prosecution's case and rebuttal. That is all we have, now.
Possibly, at some point, this report will be fact checked, as these were:
"The Innocent Executed: Deception & Death Penalty Opponents"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/10/08/the-innocent-executed-deception--death-penalty-opponents--draft.aspx
This is the perfect storm for anti death penalty folks. Both the "innocent" and "guilty" parties are dead and an, often,way too eager press plays defense mouthpiece for an anti death penalty report.
Am I saying that this newest Liebman report is total BS, just another anti death penalty tome whereby the conclusions can either be easily rebutted or that stronger positions can be made for guilt, with a thorough review, as was the case with many prior such cases?
No. But anyone would be a fool not to consider that possibility.
Time will tell.
and
MORE ON DELUNA
"The DeLuna Deception: At the Death House Door" Can Rev. Carroll Pickett be trusted?"
http://homicidesurvivors.com/2009/01/30/fact-checking-is-very-welcome.aspx
"Those closest to Carlos DeLuna case say Columbia Human Rights study doesn't raise new questions",
http://www.caller.com/news/2012/may/16/those-closest-to-carlos-deluna-case-say-columbia/
"Report questioning execution doesn't sway lawyers", MICHAEL GRACZYK, Associated Press, May 16, 2012
http://www.chron.com/news/article/Report-questioning-execution-doesn-t-sway-lawyers-3564112.php
FALSE INNOCENT CLAIMS
See Section B. The false innocence claims by anti death penalty activists are both blatant and legendary
within
"The Death Penalty: Saving More Innocent Lives"
http://prodpinnc.blogspot.com/2012/03/death-penalty-saving-more-innocent.html