Posted 12/03/2005 04:36:00 PM by Douglas

I sure hope the writers at Law & Order are reading this little nugget of sunshine:

First, at the age of 19, he was shot nine times and left for dead in a 1984 robbery in San Antonio. A companion of Moreno was shot to death during the robbery.

Then, Moreno says, he was pressured by police into identifying the wrong man after repeatedly saying it wasn't him.

That man, Ruben Cantu, was executed based on Moreno's testimony in a 1985 trial.

Now Bexar County District Attorney Susan Reed says if her investigation supports Moreno's contention that the wrong man was executed, she may file charges against him.

For perjury? No. The three-year statute of limitations ran out a long time ago.

For the murder of Ruben Cantu.

I think Susan Reed may be watching too much Law & Order. How the hell could he be guilty of murder if it was the State and all its due process that was ultimately responsible for his death?

"A man has been executed because of that lie. That is pretty serious stuff. There are consequences for that."

Certainly, and that's why when the state has the authority to take a life, they'd better be damn sure before they do. The prosecutor in Cantu's case should have been damn sure before he asked the original jury to hand down a capital murder charge on the shaky testimony of an illegal alien.

If it turns out he is guilty of perjury, then that's all he's guilty of. Because every judge, prosecutor, and jury along Cantu's appeals process are just as guilty. I think about as middle of the road as you can get when it comes to capital punishment, but this is a pretty compelling argument why you should never give someone as incompetent as a state government the ability to legally put people to death.