This poor guy could'nt afford OJ defense team I suppose...
Al
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'Houston Chronicle' Suggests Innocent Man was Executed
By E&P Staff
Published: November 19, 2005 5:00 PM ET
NEW YORK It is often said that while many innocent men and women have been released from death row in recent years, there might not yet be one fully documented case of an innocent person actually put to death by the state. But an article in the Houston Chronicle for its Sunday edition strongly suggests that an innocent man--or rather, a teenager--was executed, 12 years ago.
Ruben Cantu, 17, was executed in Texas in 1993, convicted of murder. He'd had no previous convictions and claimed he was framed in this one.
Now the Chronicle investigation, it says, "suggests that Cantu, a former special-ed student who grew up in a tough
neighborhood on the south side of San Antonio, was likely telling the truth.
"Cantu's long-silent co-defendant, David Garza, just 15 when the two boys allegedly committed a murder-robbery together, has signed a sworn affidavit saying he allowed his friend to be falsely accused, though Cantu wasn't with him the night of the killing.
"And the lone eyewitness, the man who survived the shooting, has recanted. He told the Chronicle he's sure that the person who shot him was not Cantu, but he felt pressured by police to identify the boy as the killer."
Often when such changes of heart appear, preosecutors and police are highly skeptical. But in this case, the newspaper says, "key players in Cantu's death--including the judge, prosecutor, head juror and defense attorney--now acknowledge that his conviction seems to have been built on omissions and lies."
The forewoman of the jury says: "The bottom line is, an innocent person was put to death." The prosecutor says that at a minimum Cantu should not have been charged with capital murder, based on testimony of one eyewitness.
The Chronicle found other problems with Cantu's case as well: "Police reports have unexplained omissions and irregularities. Witnesses who could have provided an alibi for Cantu that night were never interviewed. And no physical evidence tied Cantu to the crime.
"Worse, some think Cantu's arrest was instigated by police officers because Cantu shot and wounded an off-duty officer during an unrelated bar fight. That case against Cantu was dropped in part because officers overreacted and apparently tainted the evidence, according to records and interviews." |
