Carlos DeLuna

Carlos DeLuna
Born(1962-03-15)March 15, 1962
Corpus Christi, Texas, U.S.
DiedDecember 7, 1989(1989-12-07) (aged 27)
Huntsville Unit, Huntsville, Texas, U.S.
Cause of deathExecution by lethal injection
Criminal statusExecuted
Conviction(s)Capital murder
Attempted rape
Criminal penaltyDeath

Carlos DeLuna (/dəˈluːnə/; March 15, 1962 – December 7, 1989) was an American man who was convicted of murder and executed by the State of Texas for killing Wanda Lopez, a 24-year-old gas station attendant in Corpus Christi, on the evening of February 4, 1983.[1] Since DeLuna's execution by lethal injection in 1989, doubts have been raised about the conviction and the question of his guilt.[2]

An investigation published by the Columbia Human Rights Law Review in May 2012 has strengthened these claims of innocence by detailing a large amount of evidence suggesting the actual murderer was Carlos Hernandez, a similar-looking man who lived in a nearby neighborhood.[3] Hernandez allegedly told at least five people that he, not DeLuna, was the murderer of Wanda Lopez.[4] In 2021, DeLuna's case and claims of innocence were the subject of the documentary film The Phantom.

  1. ^ "Executed Offenders". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved 2012-05-21.
  2. ^ Andrew Cohen, "Yes, America, We Have Executed an Innocent Man", The Atlantic Monthly, May 14, 2012.
  3. ^ Liebman, James; et al. (May 2012). "Los Tocayos Carlos: An Anatomy of a Wrongful Execution". Columbia Human Rights Law Review. Archived from the original on 2012-05-16.
  4. ^ Cohen, Andrew (15 May 2012). "Yes, America, We Have Executed an Innocent Man". The Atlantic. Retrieved 26 January 2022.