“I knew Carlos DeLuna was innocent,” Maurice writes in “Wrongful Convictions Haunt the U.S.”, a new essay for Sojourners, published on Friday, July 2, 2021.
“In the spring of 2006, I sat in the living room of Rose Rhoton, whose younger brother, Carlos DeLuna, had been executed by the state of Texas in 1989 for a murder in Corpus Christi. I was a reporter for the Chicago Tribune and, along with my reporting partner, Steve Mills, informed her that after several months of investigation, we had concluded that Carlos was innocent — that another man, also named Carlos, had committed the murder.
“Seconds elapsed as she stared at us. Two decades had passed since Carlos was arrested and convicted.
“Finally, she spoke.
“‘What am I supposed to do with this?’ she asked, her voice cracking. “What good does this do me now?’”
Continue reading Maurice’s essay in full HERE.
The essay comes on the same day a new documentary film, The Phantom, about the DeLuna case hits theaters and streaming services, and a day after U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland announced a moratorium on federal executions, reversing a decision by his predecessor, William Barr, to resume federal executions after a 17-year pause.
The Phantom is streaming on Amazon Prime Video, Google Play, and Vudu.
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