{"product_id":"the-wrong-carlos-anatomy-of-a-wrongful-execution-9780231167222","title":"The Wrong Carlos: Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution","description":"\u003cp\u003eIn 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 DeLunas conviction  which was based on a single  nighttime  cross-ethnic eyewitness identification with no corroborating forensic evidence. At his trial  DeLunas 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 DeLunas 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 Hernandezs 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.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"My Store","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":45789739647029,"sku":"ByrdShop_0231167229","price":78.32,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0627\/8139\/0901\/files\/9780231167222.jpg?v=1784695712","url":"https:\/\/atxbooks.com\/products\/the-wrong-carlos-anatomy-of-a-wrongful-execution-9780231167222","provider":"ATX Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}