| Description |
1 online resource (xi, 429 pages) : illustrations |
| Physical Medium |
polychrome |
| Description |
text file |
| Note |
"James S. Liebman and the Columbia DeLuna Project." |
| Bibliography |
Includes bibliographical references (pages 357-407) and index. |
| Contents |
The Death of Wanda Lopez. Murder ; Manhunt ; Show-up ; Crime Scene ; Suspect -- The Lives of Carlos Hernandez. Probation and Parole ; Acquittal ; Confession ; Mistaken Identity -- The Prosecution of Carlos DeLuna. Investigation ; Defense ; No Defense ; Trial ; Sentence -- The Passion of Carlos DeLuna. Appeals ; Execution -- The Scars of Dina Ybañez. Recidivism -- Epilogue -- Appendix: People. |
| Summary |
A case study of the fabulous recklessness of Texas death penalty justice, a study that destroys the myth of the mistake-proof executioner in the death penalty capital of the United States. |
|
"In 1989, Texas executed Carlos DeLuna, a poor Hispanic man with childlike intelligence, for the murder of Wanda Lopez, a convenience store clerk. His execution passed unnoticed for years until a team of Columbia Law School faculty and students almost accidentally chose to investigate his case and found that DeLuna almost certainly was innocent. They discovered that no one had cared enough about either the defendant or the victim to make sure the real perpetrator was found. Everything that could go wrong in a criminal case did. This book documents DeLuna's conviction, which was based on a single, nighttime, cross-ethnic eyewitness identification with no corroborating forensic evidence. At his trial, DeLuna's defense, that another man named Carlos had committed the crime, was not taken seriously. The lead prosecutor told the jury that the other Carlos, Carlos Hernandez, was a "phantom" of DeLuna's imagination. In upholding the death penalty on appeal, both the state and federal courts concluded the same thing: Carlos Hernandez did not exist. The evidence the Columbia team uncovered reveals that Hernandez not only existed but was well known to the police and prosecutors. He had a long history of violent crimes similar to the one for which DeLuna was executed. Families of both Carloses mistook photos of each for the other, and Hernandez's violence continued after DeLuna was put to death. This book and its website (thewrongcarlos.net) reproduce law-enforcement, crime lab, lawyer, court, social service, media, and witness records, as well as court transcripts, photographs, radio traffic, and audio and videotaped interviews, documenting one of the most comprehensive investigations into a criminal case in U.S. history. The result is eye-opening yet may not be unusual. Faulty eyewitness testimony, shoddy legal representation, and prosecutorial misfeasance continue to put innocent people at risk of execution. The principal investigators conclude with novel suggestions for improving accuracy among the police, prosecutors, forensic scientists, and judges."--Provided by publisher. |
| Local Note |
eBooks on EBSCOhost EBSCO eBook Subscription Academic Collection - North America |
| Subject |
DeLuna, Carlos -- Trials, litigation, etc.
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DeLuna, Carlos. |
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Vargas López, Wanda.
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Vargas López, Wanda. |
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Trials (Murder) -- Texas.
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Trials (Murder) |
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Texas. |
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Capital punishment -- Texas.
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Capital punishment. |
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Judicial error -- Texas.
|
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Judicial error. |
| Genre/Form |
Electronic books.
|
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Trials, litigation, etc.
|
| Added Author |
Crowley, Shawn, author.
|
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Markquart, Andrew, author.
|
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Rosenberg, Lauren, author.
|
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White, Lauren Gallo, author.
|
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Zharkovsky, Daniel, author.
|
| Other Form: |
Print version: Liebman, James S. Wrong Carlos : Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution. New York : Columbia University Press, ©2014 9780231167239 9780231167222 (DLC) 2013044147 (OCoLC)862929068 |
| ISBN |
9780231536684 electronic book |
|
0231536682 electronic book |
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9780231167222 (cloth : alkaline paper) |
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0231167229 (cloth : alkaline paper) |
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9780231167239 (paperback : alkaline paper) |
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0231167237 (paperback : alkaline paper) |
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