Executed man may have been innocent

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/11/20/texas.execution.ap/

Sunday, November 20, 2005; Posted: 7:36 p.m. EST (00:36 GMT)

HOUSTON, Texas (AP) -- Doubts are being cast on the guilt of a Texas man executed more than a dozen years ago after the crime's lone witness recanted and a co-defendant said he allowed his friend to be falsely accused under police pressure, the Houston Chronicle reported Sunday.

Ruben Cantu was 17 in 1984 when he was charged with capital murder in the fatal shooting of a man during an attempted robbery in San Antonio. The victim was shot nine times with a rifle before the gunman unloaded more rounds into the only eyewitness.

The eyewitness, Juan Moreno, told the Chronicle that it wasn't Cantu who shot him. Moreno said he identified Cantu as the killer during his 1985 trial because he felt pressured and was afraid of authorities.

Meanwhile, Cantu's co-defendant, David Garza, recently signed a sworn affidavit saying he allowed his friend to be accused, even though Cantu wasn't with him the night of the killing.

Cantu was executed at age 26. He had long professed his innocence.

He saw more executions as governor than any other Texas (or any other state) if I'm not mistaken.

Thanks

just asking. lessee.
shrub- in the white house for five years.
prior to that, two terms as texas governor.
that would make it about.... a dozen years ago, no?

just asking.

whalerider

Hate to bust your bubble on this one, but Ruben Cantu was executed on Aug 28, 1993. That was over a year before Shrub began disgracing the office of Governor.

http://www.internationaljusticeproject.org/texas.cfm

was ruben's.

whalerider

opposed to the death penalty, whether administered by a dem or a republican

:mad:

texas justice just mocks the concept...they'll find out what justice is when they get to hell...lol
'texas lawmen'! omg, what a contradiction, a hypocrite's lolipop

Can you imagine that torture of being on death row innocently? I hate these stories. Absolutely hate them. Makes my eyes tear up.

We are the only industrialized country still practicing this barbaric form of "legalized" killing. How many innocent have died?

The Death Penalty needs to be put to death.

But not the only one.

It's disturbing to think someone was put to death for a crime they did not commit, with taxpayer dollars.

... what kind of person lets someone go to his death because he felt "pressured"?

Lawmen in Texas have been known to exert some pretty hefty pressure in order to make their cases.
It is entirely possible that this man who was "pressured" signed the affidavit in order to protect his family or himself from being deported...or worse.
It is hard to know what pressure that man was put under. My guess is that it was pretty significant if he knew his words were condemning another man to death.

... but I consider those thing "threatened", not "pressured".

But I agree it is possible they basically said "testify or you are going to prison".

Personally, I think the quid quo pro deals that are given for testimony should be severely curtailed - they are clearly often abused.

With all the people they execute down here, there's bound to be a couple of innocent ones thrown in there. Hell, we even execute the retarded, innocent is the least of our worries.

of a concern than that. If you talk to a death penalty advocate it becomes clear that the most important thing to them is to kill SOMEBODY for the crime. They really don't care too much if the person they are killing is the right somebody.

:sarcasm:

Disgusting story, but I imagine its more common than most of society would like to think.

And that is one of the reasons why any civilized society should not have a death penalty. The fact that even one human being could be murdered by accident by the government proves the death penalty should not exist.

many mistakes, too many people being
executed when there are doubts in the
case.


:grr: