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p. 58 "According to her…other complications."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:20:51–00:21:30 (“My mother, she was a real healthy woman. She would work, take care of us. After the incident of Carlos DeLuna, she just went downhill. She got sick. She had to go to the hospital. They operated on her three times. Then she died. She died after all that.”).p. 58 "Doctors operated on her three times."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:20:51–00:21:30 (“My mother, she was a real healthy woman. She would work, take care of us. After the incident of Carlos DeLuna, she just went downhill. She got sick. She had to go to the hospital. They operated on her three times. Then she died. She died after all that.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 4 (“Margarita went into the hospital. She had surgery, and there were lots of complications.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 6 (“Margarita suffered from kidney problems. When Carlos went to trial, she wound up in the hospital. The trial did her in . . . . She died on August 11, 1983, soon after her 61st birthday.”).p.58 "Two weeks before…intensive care."Oral Argument on June 20, 1983 Motion for Continuance, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. June 20, 1983) at 2, 3, 5 (“[Defense Counsel James] Lawrence: To further enlighten the Court, she [Margarita Martinez] underwent an operation, she had complications, she had a heart attack, I believe, on Thursday. . . [S]he’s now in Intensive Care.”; “[Prosecutor Ken] Botary: It was not a heart attack, per se, it was a heart-related problem. She had surgery some time ago.”).p.58 "Margarita was supposed…to testify."Criminal Docket, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. Feb. 17, 1983) at 3; Oral Argument on June 20, 1983 Motion for Continuance, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. June 20, 1983) at 99. The Court denied Defendant’s Second Motion for a Continuance, but reset the trial from June 20 to July 5, 1983 at the request of the defense. See Oral Argument on June 20, 1983 Motion for Continuance, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. June 20, 1983) at 99.p.58 "Margarita clung to…the courthouse."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 4:
Margarita went into the hospital. She had surgery, and there were lots of complications. Mary was with her every morning, then went to the trial, then went back to the hospital. Mary’s three boys had been receiving Robert’s [her deceased husband’s] social security since he was killed in 1976, and they lived on that while the trial was going on. At the time, Toni [Mary’s older sister] was working at Minyard’s, a market like Albertson’s. When she got off work she would go to the hospital so that Mary could be with her boys. [Mary’s sister] Vicky came to the hospital as well.
p.58 "She died…age sixty-one."Carlos’s trial ended on July 21, 1983. Criminal Docket, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. Feb. 17, 1983) at 9. Carlos’s mother died on August 11, 1983. See Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 6 (“Margarita suffered from kidney problems. When Carlos went to trial, she wound up in the hospital. The trial did her in. . . . She died on August 11, 1983, soon after her 61st birthday.”).p.58 "Margarita had ten children…only thirteen."Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 2; Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:54:26 (“And before she met my step-dad, she had another baby, I don’t know that baby’s name. That’s why I say she has ten kids. That baby happened to be a boy, and she gave him away. She gave him up for adoption.”); see Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 03:24:20–03:26:03 (reading from a letter written to her by Carlos DeLuna written in early December 1989):I will go ahead and tell you a little bit about my childhood. Maybe you will be able to understand me a little more. I grew up in a big family. There were nine of us. My real father left when I was only an infant, about five or six months old, and my mother brought us up. I think I was about five or six years old when she married my stepfather. He was a good man but he was an alcoholic. He drank a whole lot. But he always did support us, and he was a good person. But he never really cared, I guess, a whole lot about us. My mother, she was 40 years old when she had me. And she was old, and I guess she was tired of raising kids. But she did try her best. I can’t take anything from her. But one of my sisters does blame my mother. I don’t know why, but she does. I grew up in a poor neighborhood, and we were poor in many ways, but I’d still never gotten in any trouble, yet, with the Law. I think I was 15 years old when I first got in trouble with the Law. I was going out with this girl who was about two years older than me, and she had already been in trouble with the Law before. But I truly did love her, or I thought I did. So you know how that goes, when they say “love is blind,” I do honestly believe that. But I met her brother and his friends, and that’s where all the trouble started.
p.58 "According to family lore…beatings anymore."Juvenile Face Sheet for Carlos DeLuna, Probation Dep’t, Family Record No. 7147 (Feb. 28, 1978) at 2 (listing Margarita’s six Conejo children and three DeLuna children); Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 3 (“Carlos’ mother was first married to a Francisco Conejo but she does not remember the date of the marriage. They were divorced in April, 1951, and six children resulted from this union.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:10:00–00:10:35 (“There was my father, I can’t remember him, because they separated when I was real young.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:51:29–19:52:42 (“[M]y mom was married at age 13, and she had her first six kids. . . . [H]er husband that she was married to, what I’ve heard, was very abusive to her.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 1–2:Toni’s father, who was the father of “the six” (Margarita’s first six children), was Francisco Conejo. He was born in Mexico, but Toni did not know where or what year he was born. He worked in construction. Margarita, Toni’s mother, and mother of all the Conejo and DeLuna children, was born on August 1, 1922 in Aransas Pass, Texas. Toni does not know where or when Margarita and Francisco got married. Toni was the second child, born on January 6, 1944. Toni remembered she was three or four years old when her parents divorced. Margarita was pregnant with Becky, the youngest of the six. Toni remembered that Francisco. . . was abusive to Margarita.
p.58 "At the time…just a baby."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004), at 1–2.p.58 "In the 1950s…in Corpus Christi."Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 3 (“Carlos’s mother was first married to a Francisco Conejo . . . . They were divorced in April, 1951”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:51:29–19:52:42, 19:44:14–19:45:15 (“And then my mom left, left wherever she lived. I’m not quite sure where she lived. And she moved to San Antonio, Tex., and then from San Antonio, Texas, she moved to Corpus Christi, Texas.”; “And we lived in the projects in Corpus Christi, Tex.. Which is called the ‘Armada’ that’s what it’s called in Corpus.”); History of Corpus Christi Housing Authority, Corpus Christi Housing Authority Website, http://www.hacc.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=81&Itemid=28 (last visited Feb. 28, 2012) (describing the Armada projects, which were originally built during World War II as military housing, then were converted to low-income housing after the War). Archived at: http://perma.cc/Y947-EDVG.p.58 "Everyone was poor…place to live."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:50:18–19:51:05:It was a project, it was a project. It wasn’t, it wasn’t a bad place. There again, when you’re kids, you don’t know any better. That’s where you’re brought up, so all the kids just hung out. All the kids that lived there were poor kids. We were all poor kids, so we didn’t know any better. So that was just our lifestyle. I mean either that or . . . we couldn’t live anywhere else but there. That’s all our parents could afford and we were thankful enough to have a place to live. So it was, we didn’t know any better.
p.58 "The government kicked in…groceries and school clothes."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:49:37–19:50:15:My mom was able to get help from the government, which they sent her a check, I believe, once a month. And she received funds from there, and with those funds she was able to buy school clothes when needed and as far as food and stuff like that. Of course, my step dad would pay for the groceries. And like I said we lived in the government apartments, so the rent there was maybe a hundred. They had to pay a hundred dollars a month and the government kicked in the rest.
p.58 "The older children remember…'dad to all of us.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:02:00–00:03:49, 00:05:54–00:06:30 (“[M]y mother . . . was like a mother and dad to all of us. She would work and, you know, do whatever she did to be able to take care of us.”; “We worked to help my mother, because, like I told you, my mother was like a dad and a mom.”).p.59 "Within a few years…Rose in 1963."Juvenile Face Sheet for Carlos DeLuna, Probation Dep’t, Family Record No. 7147 (Feb. 28, 1978) at 2.p.59 "Joe and Margarita…produced three sons."Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978), at 3 (“In 1960 [Margarita] had a commonlaw marriage with Carlos’ father, Jose De Peña [sic]; they separated in 1963. Three children resulted from this union.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2. (“Mary remembered Joe DeLuna as “nice, okay.” He worked in a scrap metal yard in Corpus Christi, and he would haul scrap metal to Mexico and sell it. Carlos resembled Joe DeLuna. In addition to the three children he had with Margarita (Manuel, Carlos and Rose), Joe fathered three sons with someone else. Mary said the children were brought together at times, but the three boys lived with their grandmother, Joe’s mother, who raised them.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2 (“Toni thought her mother must have been on her own, after her divorce, for over 10 years. That was from 1947 or 1948 until 1961, when she began living with Joe DeLuna.”).p.59 "He left Margarita when she was pregnant with Rose."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3 (“Joe left Margarita when she was pregnant with Rose. Joe and Margarita were not married, but Manuel, Carlos and Rose all used his name.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“Joe left . . .[,] possibly when Margarita was still pregnant with Rose.”).p.59 "According to the stories Rose heard…"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:54:26 (describing the family “story told” and the family “stories that I’ve heard”).p.59 "…after moving to Corpus Christi."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:54:26 (“She [Margarita] already had six kids, so when she moved to Corpus Christi, Tex., she met my dad. And my dad was younger than my mother. These are the stories that I’ve heard.”).p.59 "The two eldest boys were already grown."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:54:26:She [Margarita] already had six kids, so when she moved to Corpus Christi, Tex., she met my dad. And my dad was younger than my mother. These are the stories that I’ve heard. And she did not tell my dad. My dad’s name is Joe. She did not tell my dad that she had six kids. She told him, she only had four kids. So that’s pretty much where the issue came, the problems came. And then he found out that she had six kids, so he left her.
See Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 03:24:20–03:25:12 (reading from a letter written to the her by Carlos DeLuna written in early December 1989: “‘I will go ahead and tell you a little bit about my childhood. Maybe you will be able to understand me a little more. I grew up in a big family. There were nine of us. My real father left when I was only an infant, about five or six months old, and my mother brought us up.’”).p.59 "Rose heard that her father Joe was a 'momma's boy'…"Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“Joe’s mother did not care for Margarita or any of her children. Mary remembered Margarita and Joe constantly fighting. When Margarita was mad at him, she wouldn’t cook for him. Mary would make him a sandwich because she felt bad for him.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 2–4 (“After divorcing Conejo, Margarita began a relationship with Joe DeLuna. Joe was younger than Margarita by 7 or 8 years, and a ‘real momma’s boy.’ His mother was completely against the relationship and constantly nagged Joe to leave Margarita.”).p.59 "…too good for Margarita."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 2–4 (“After divorcing Conejo, Margarita began a relationship with Joe DeLuna. Joe was younger than Margarita by 7 or 8 years, and a ‘real momma’s boy.’ His mother was completely against the relationship and constantly nagged Joe to leave Margarita.”).p.59 "The older siblings remember…fighting all the time."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (noting that Mary remembered Margarita and Joe constantly fighting. When Margarita was mad at him, she wouldn’t cook for him. Mary would make him a sandwich because she felt bad for him.).p.59 "Rose, short for Rosemary…her mother Maria Margarita."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“Rose was named Rose for Joe’s mother and Mary for [her own mother Maria (Mary)] Margarita.”).p.59 "She never met…or her father."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3–4 (“Joe and Margarita were not married but Manuel, Carlos and Rose all used his name. . . . Rose never knew or saw Joe DeLuna. According to Rose’s older sister Toni, Carlos once went to meet Joe’s mother. She did not want to have anything to do with him, and did not want her son Joe to have anything to do with Carlos, Rose or Manuel.”).p.59 "She heard that Carlos…sent him away."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3–4.p.59 "She didn't want…Joe never did either."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3–4 (“[Joe’s] mother was completely against the relationship and constantly nagged Joe to leave Margarita. . . . Joe left Margarita when she was pregnant with Rose. . . . She did not want to have anything to do with [Carlos], and did not want her son Joe to have anything to do with Carlos, Rose or Manuel.”).p.59 "'[But] she did keep us three.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:56:31:And before [Margarita] met my step-dad, she had another baby, I don’t know that baby’s name. That’s why I say she has ten kids. That baby happened to be a boy, and she gave him away. She gave him up for adoption. That’s the story told. So I’ve never met that sibling, that brother, so we don’t know anything about him. So she did keep us three and that’s when she met my step-dad [Blas Avalos] . . . . I think she met my step dad, I must have been, I know I wasn’t in kindergarten yet. I must have been four or maybe as young as three and a half or maybe five when he came into the picture.
See also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:02:00–00:03:49, 00:10:00–00:10:35 (“From my first dad we were six, then from my second, step-dad there were three, which is Rosemary and Carlos and Manuel.”; “There was my father, I can’t remember him, because they separated when I was real young. Then DeLuna, which is the father of my brothers, which is Manual, Rosemary, and Carlos. Then Avalos after I was already grown up and married.”).p.59 "When Rose was about four…were soon married."Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 3 (“In 1969, [Margarita] married Mr. Avalos”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 4 (“Blas and Margarita probably met in a bar. Margarita drank at that time, but by the time Rose was a teenager, she had stopped drinking. Rose never saw Margarita drunk.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (“Toni did not remember exactly when Margarita married Blas Avalos. He was three years younger than Margarita, and worked in construction. He was an alcoholic.”).p.59 "Mostly, Blas stayed on the sidelines."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 4 (“Rose does not remember exactly when Margarita and Blas married. He was a ‘weekend alcoholic’ and an ‘okay’ stepfather. He just wanted the kids to go to school and listen to their parents. He was on the sidelines. He only spanked them because Margarita told him to. It was not his own nature.”); see also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 03:24:20–03:25:12 (reading from a letter written to her by Carlos DeLuna written in early December 1989):[I] will go ahead and tell you a little bit about my childhood. Maybe you will be able to understand me a little more. I grew up in a big family. There were nine of us. My real father left when I was only an infant, about five or six months old, and my mother brought us up. I think I was about five or six years old when she married my stepfather. He was a good man but he was an alcoholic. He drank a whole lot. But he always did support us, and he was a good person. But he never really cared, I guess, a whole lot about us. My mother, she was 40 years old when she had me. And she was old, and I guess she was tired of raising kids. But she did try her best. I can’t take anything from her.
p.59 "Rose called him a 'weekend alcoholic.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:42:15–20:43:31 (“[M]y step-dad was an alcoholic. As soon as he got paid on Friday—he always went to work, that’s one thing I can say about him. He went to work Monday through Friday. Friday evening, that’s it, he drank ‘till Sunday evening. That’s all he did, was drink Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day long, from the time he would wake up to the time he would pass out.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 4 (“[Blas] was a “weekend alcoholic” . . . . He would drink on the weekends until he passed out. He would either drink at home, or at a friend’s house—an older man who lived nearby. The two of them would just sit and drink until they passed out. Blas had a daughter from a previous relationship, whom he adored. Rose remembered going to visit that girl a few times, but did not remember her name.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (“Toni did not remember exactly when Margarita married Blas Avalos. He was three years younger than Margarita, and worked in construction. He was an alcoholic.”).p.59 "'The two of them'…Rose recalled."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:42:15–20:43:31 (“[M]y step-dad was an alcoholic. As soon as he got paid on Friday—he always went to work, that’s one thing I can say about him. He went to work Monday through Friday. Friday evening, that’s it, he drank ‘till Sunday evening. That’s all he did, was drink Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day long, from the time he would wake up to the time he would pass out.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 4 (“Blas and Margarita probably met in a bar. . . . He was on the sidelines. He only spanked them because Margarita told him to. It was not his own nature. He would drink on the weekends until he passed out. He would either drink at home, or at a friend’s house—an older man who lived nearby. The two of them would just sit and drink until they passed out.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 4 (“I asked about Blas Avalos, Toni and Carlos’s stepfather. Toni did not know where he was living now. He is in very bad shape. He has organic brain syndrome from alcoholism. Toni said Blas was a good provider, but he drank too much. The last time she saw him, he could not remember what he had just eaten, or that he had just eaten. His mind is gone.”).p.60 "Her mom was already…second set of kids."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:54:26–19:56:31 (“[M]y mom was tired after having all those kids”).p.60 "…I guess she was tired of raising kids.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 03:24:20–03:25:12 (reading from a letter written to her by Carlos DeLuna written in early December 1989):I will go ahead and tell you a little bit about my childhood. Maybe you will be able to understand me a little more. I grew up in a big family. There were nine of us. My real father left when I was only an infant, about five or six months old, and my mother brought us up. I think I was about five or six years old when she married my stepfather. He was a good man but he was an alcoholic. He drank a whole lot. But he always did support us, and he was a good person. But he never really cared, I guess, a whole lot about us. My mother, she was 40 years old when she had me. And she was old, and I guess she was tired of raising kids. But she did try her best. I can’t take anything from her.
p.60 "The job of rearing…three older half-sisters."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:05:54–00:06:30 (“[W]hen [the DeLuna kids] were little, we used to take care of them. We used to buy them clothes. . . . And we would dress them, buy them clothes, feed them . . . .”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2–3 (noting that Toni had gotten married and moved out around the time the oldest of the DeLuna children was born; “Toni said that [her younger sisters] Mary (Arredondo), Becky (Gutierrez) and Vicky Marquez could tell me more about Carlos growing up, because they took care of him.”).p.60 "Vicky Consejo chose…Becky took Rose."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:07:10–00:07:53, 00:08:35–00:08:58 (“Manuel was my favorite. I don’t know why, but Manuel was my favorite when I used to take care of him. . . . Mary would pick Carlos and I would pick Manuel.”; “Carlos was her [Mary’s] favorite, and Manuel was my favorite . . . I’m saying that because that’s who I [would] take care of. And Becky was [in charge of] Rosemary. It was just like that, I don’t know how. That’s the way it was. We took care of them like that.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004), at 2 (“Mary said that she, Vicky and Becky took care of Manuel, Carlos and Rose when they were little.”).p.60 "He was a 'good boy'; he behaved."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:08:00–00:08:19 (“They were very nice kids. They would listen to us. We would take them to the movies, anywhere we wanted to go we would take them. They behaved. They were well-behaved.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 3 (“Mary remembered when she, Vicky and Becky were dating. They couldn’t leave the little kids alone, so each sister would pick one child and take them on her date. She laughed about this and said it wasn’t that bad. She often picked Carlos. Mary remembered Carlos as a good boy that was kind and gentle and loving.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (Carlos’s half-sister “Toni remembered Carlos as very loveable.”); James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 1–2, 4 (“I know how Carlos got in this bad circle; it was because of Ida Sosa. . . . Ida Sota (Sosa) was to blame for his down fall.”; “Carlos DeLuna as kid: good kid, until met Ida Sosa. Then life changed.”).p.60 "The rest of the paycheck…help with the rent."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:07:10–00:07:53, 00:05:54–00:06:30:Every time they would pay us, paycheck time, we would buy them [the DeLuna children] something, some clothes. That’s the way we were raised, to help my mother. When we got paid, we would give the check to my mom and she would give us just so that we could spend something and go buy us something. But it was a habit we had that, every paycheck, we had to go buy something for our brother. It’s just like he was our responsibility, something like that. . . . When I was growing up? Well, when they [the DeLuna kids] were little, we used to take care of them. We used to buy them clothes. We worked to help my mother, because, like I told you, my mother was like a dad and a mom. So we would work. My mother even—I had to get out of school to help my mother with the kids. And we would take care of them. And I would have to work, me and Mary. And we would dress them, buy them clothes, feed them, help my mother.
p.60 "Margarita wanted…hold down paying jobs."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“[Mary], Vicky and Becky took care of Manuel, Carlos and Rose when they were little. Sometimes they would have to stay home from school to do so.”).p.60 "The principal and teachers…she ignored them."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“The school got after Margarita for this [keeping her kids out of school], but she just ignored them. One day, Mary was called into the office and asked why she had so many absences. She explained that her mother needed money and had to work outside the house. Someone had to take care of the littlest children. After that, the school gave Mary a job in the school cafeteria, and also found babysitting jobs for her, so that she could contribute to the family income.”).p.60 "Someone had to stay with the littlest children."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“The school got after Margarita for this [keeping her kids out of school], but she just ignored them. One day, Mary was called into the office and asked why she had so many absences. She explained that her mother needed money and had to work outside the house. Someone had to take care of the littlest children. After that, the school gave Mary a job in the school cafeteria, and also found babysitting jobs for her, so that she could contribute to the family income.”).p. 60 "The school gave Mary…the DeLuna kids."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“The school got after Margarita for this [keeping her kids out of school], but she just ignored them. One day, Mary was called into the office and asked why she had so many absences. She explained that her mother needed money and had to work outside the house. Someone had to take care of the littlest children. After that, the school gave Mary a job in the school cafeteria, and also found babysitting jobs for her, so that she could contribute to the family income.”).p.60 "She loved them…her job was done."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005), at 00:02:00–00:03:49, 00:12:17–00:12:46 (“[My mother] used to take care of us because she was like a mother and dad to all of us. She would work and, you know, do whatever she did to be able to take care of us. We were a family of nine.”; “When she was with [Joe DeLuna], it was ok. But after he left her, it was kind of hard because she had to work more because we were now more, more kids that she had to take care of. It was kind of hard for her, it was kind of hard, you could say that, to be able to take care of us.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:46:25–19:48:11:Our life wasn’t easy as kids, my mom, like I said. She was—My mom had a total of ten kids. So it was really hard for our mom to raise us last three kids. So it was pretty much taking care of ourselves, and looking after ourselves. I’m not saying that my mom was a bad mom, but our step dad was an alcoholic. And it was really hard living in that lifestyle. And they weren’t, my parent’s weren’t parents that encouraged you to finish school. That wasn’t their lifestyle. They had a totally different lifestyle. Education wasn’t one of [their priorities].
See also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2:In 1961, [Toni] dropped out of Ray High School in the eleventh grade and got married. Toni and Jose Peña got married in Holy Family Church. Toni was the only one of the family to get married in church, and Margarita was very happy about it, although it was her dream that all her children would do so. Toni said she later got a GED and went on to attend DelMar Junior College, where she got associate degrees in early childhood development and cosmetology. When she said ‘cosmetology,’ Toni covered her face and laughed. Belinda said that Toni had done all the hours of training necessary to get the cosmetology degree, and then never used it.
p.60-61 "It didn't bother her…never came back."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5 (“There was no loving, no hugs, no ‘good mornings.’ Margarita just wanted the kids married and out of the house. It did not seem to bother her that Vincent left and never came back. What mattered was that he was out of the house.”).p.61 "Margarita was just happy…on his own."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5; see Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 1–2 (“All of the six were close to their mother except Vincent. He did not come to their mother’s funeral.”; “Rose has only seen Vincent, the oldest, two times in her life. Vincent left and never came back. He took care of himself. . . . Rose heard that he changed his name, got married and had a family.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2–3 (“The oldest child of Margarita and Francisco Conejo was Vincent. He was a good student who won awards and . . . went into the army at 17 or 18 years old and went to Vietnam. He might have stayed in the army as a career. No one has seen or heard of him in . . . years.”).p.61 "Becky, the youngest…when Vincent was born."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3 (“Becky is the youngest of the six. She was the rebellious one, who would leave the house and stay out until late. She got pregnant at a young age, and Margarita kicked her out.”).p.61 "…Hey, I didn't tell you to get pregnant…"Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“Margarita’s attitude was, ‘Hey, I didn’t tell you to get pregnant.’ However, Mary said that Margarita didn’t kick Becky out . . . . Becky left on her own.”).p.61 "Manuel, the oldest…left home after that."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5 (“Manuel dropped out of Tom Brown [Junior High School] in the 8th or 9th grade”).p.61 "He followed his half-sister and surrogate mom Vicky Consejo Gutierrez…"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:07:10–00:07:53 (“Manuel was my favorite. I don’t know why, but Manuel was my favorite when I used to take care of him.”). On Manuel’s connection to Garland and nearby Dallas, see James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 4:My mother died because of this shit (CDL’s [Carlos DeLuna’s capital murder] arrest and conviction). I was in Dall[a]s working . . . . I had no[] funds. I was married to Yolanda and we had a kid or two. I told mom, that he’ll [Carlos DeLuna will] be out again very soon giving you hell. Don’t worry about it. I felt bad (not going back to CC [Corpus Christi] as mom asked), but I had responsibility and I was barely hanging on by my fingernails in Dallas, so I never went back to CC. Now is the first time in my life I can breathe. No worries about money, and some left over.
James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 4 (“1980–81, he [Manuel DeLuna] goes to Dallas.”).p.61 "Garland, Texas…in a Kraft Foods Plant."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005), at 00:04:30–00:05:19:I got married with my husband, Alberto Gutierrez. We moved to Garland because what he was making over there [in Corpus Christi] wasn’t enough money. So we moved to Garland, and he found a job here at Kraft Foods, which they were paying better. Then, after that, I told my sister, Mary Arredando, my husband could find her husband a job here. Which he did, so Mary came along and moved over here to Garland, and he found a job there at Kraft Foods, too. But, poor Mary, her husband had an accident and died in a car accident. Then, I guess we all talked to Becky, Danny, and everybody sort of followed me, so they all moved over here.
Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 3 (“After Hurricane Celia [August 3, 1970], Mary wanted out of Corpus Christi. The family moved to Garland, Texas, where her husband got a job at the Kraft Foods plant.”).p.61 "Manuel traveled back and forth…tried to flee the scene."Judgment, Texas v. Manuel DeLuna, No. 80-CR–147-C (Nueces Cty., 94th Dist. Tex. May 20, 1980) (sentencing Manuel DeLuna to five years’ probation for the unauthorized use of a motor vehicle); R. Yatu, Investigating Officer, City Vehicle Accidents (Jan. 13, 1980) (noting that Manuel DeLuna had backed a van into a city vehicle legally parked at Casino Club); Judgment, Texas v. Manuel DeLuna, No. 95-CR–4273-G(81) (Nueces Cty., 319th Dist. Tex. Feb. 17, 1998) (sentencing Manuel DeLuna to three years imprisonment for burglary); James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 4 (describing Manuel’s criminal record: “1973–1974: arrested for unauthorized use of MV and gets three years probation; 1980–81, he goes to Dallas. For years, he never reported to probation. Got stopped in 1986 for expired inspection sticker . . . and gets arrested after they ran NCIC on him; warrant on him from back in 70s. Goes to jail; CC picks him up and sent me up for ‘10 years.’ . . . ‘I don’t want to talk about that.’”).p. 61 "Rose was still little when Becky, her surrogate mom, left."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:52:42–19:56:31 (“So she [Margarita] was raising us three, plus two of my sisters. Which is Mary and Becky lived in the house with her helping raise us as little kids. And then they got married and moved out, and I believe that is when my mom met my step-dad. . . . I think she met my step dad, I must have been, I know I wasn’t in kindergarten yet. I must have been four or maybe as young as three and a half or maybe five when he came into the picture.”).p.61 "The other girls had married…her older brothers."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:54:26–19:56:31 (“So that was me growing up, getting up early in the morning, making sure if I wanted to go to school, I had to make sure the house was cleaned up. I had to make sure breakfast was done for Manuel and Carlos because we grew up together.”).p.61 "Manuel and Carlos did 'pretty much…whatever they wanted.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:54:26–19:56:31:She [Margarita] was harder on us girls, as far as stricter, and expected more from the girls than the guys. And that’s pretty much normal in the Mexican generation, the moms tend to be easier on the men than they tend to be on the women. They tend to be harder on the women. So my mom was really hard on us, as far as the guys, she pretty much let them do what they wanted to do. So that was me growing up, getting up early in the morning, making sure if I wanted to go to school, I had to make sure the house was cleaned up. I had to make sure breakfast was done for Manuel and Carlos . . . .
Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:56:43–19:57:37:[M]y mother was strict on, very strict on me. My. . . . when I got up in the morning, like I said, I had to make sure all these things were done before I went to school. And then I had to get home right as soon as I got out of school. There wasn’t any sports. You couldn’t do any sports, at all. You get straight home. I would get home and help her start . . . [getting] ready for . . . cleaning up, dinner, whatever need to be done. As far as Carlos and Manuel, those are my two brothers that lived at home. She pretty much let them do whatever they wanted to do. Come and go as they wanted.
Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5 (“[Rose] had to get up at 4 a.m., make breakfast for Manuel and Carlos and herself and clean up the house before she could go to school.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5–6:Margarita favored the boys. The girls had to do exactly as they were told, or “we got the crap beat out of us, literally.” Margarita hit them with a belt, slapped them and pulled their hair. Rose said, “I had really long hair. It hurt.” The girls had to scrub the floors and walls, and wash clothes by hand. If Carlos or Manuel got into trouble, they would get hit and have to do some cleaning, but three hours later Margarita would be giving them ice cream. If they wanted to go out, she would let them. Rose remembered mowing and raking the lawn, while Carlos and Manuel were in the house watching TV, even after they’d started getting into trouble. Rose thought this was normal, that this was the way everybody lived.
See also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2 (recounting that Margarita “was very strict with the children. Toni said that Margarita was more strict with her original six children than with the three she had later on (Manuel, Carlos and Rose). Toni then said that Rose would probably disagree with that.”); see Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Linda Perales Ayala, Step-Mother of Pricilla Hernandez Jaramillo and Ex-Wife of Manuel DeLuna (July 24, 2004) at 2–3 (“Linda went to Manuel’s [Manuel DeLuna’s] house twice [during junior high or high school]. She thought their mother was mentally abusive to them. The mother was especially hard on Rose, who had to do all the cooking and cleaning for Manuel and Carlos.”).p.61 "If she wanted to go…made for the boys."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:54:26–19:56:31:She [Margarita] was harder on us girls, as far as stricter, and expected more from the girls than the guys. And that’s pretty much normal in the Mexican generation, the moms tend to be easier on the men than they tend to be on the women. They tend to be harder on the women. So my mom was really hard on us, as far as the guys, she pretty much let them do what they wanted to do. So that was me growing up, getting up early in the morning, making sure if I wanted to go to school, I had to make sure the house was cleaned up. I had to make sure breakfast was done for Manuel and Carlos . . . .
Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 5 (Rose “had to get up at 4 a.m., make breakfast for Manuel and Carlos and herself and clean up the house before she could go to school.”).p.61 "When school got out…finish cleaning."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:56:43–19:57:37 (“[W]hen I got up in the morning . . . I had to make sure all these things were done before I went to school. And then I had to get home right as soon as I got out of school. There wasn’t any sports. You couldn’t do any sports, at all. You get straight home. I would get home and help her start . . . [getting] ready for . . . cleaning up, dinner, whatever need to be done.”).p.61 "She always felt bad…in sports after school."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:56:43–19:57:37.p.61 "She pointed out…football team in junior high."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:12:12–20:14:13, 20:26:00–20:28:40 (“And [Carlos] wanted to be in sports, which my mother allowed him to play football.”; “I know for sure what hurt Carlos the most was when he was kicked out of football. When he was kicked out of football, he gave up. . . . I really didn’t know what position [Carlos played]. I know Manuel would know what position because Manuel was also in football.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (“[Carlos] liked football, basketball and riding bikes. She thought he had played on the school football team. . . . Manuel . . . had been on the football team.”).p.61 "School was an annoyance…clothing and supplies."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 4 (“Education was an annoying burden to Margarita, because it required her to buy clothes and supplies for the kids. She did not think education was important at all. Rose was certain that, had there not been a law requiring children to go to school, none of them would have attended.”).p.61 "…If that law wasn't in place, we wouldn't be going to school."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:46:25–19:48:11, 19:54:26–19:56:31 (“And they weren’t, my parent’s [sic] weren’t parents that encouraged you to finish school. That wasn’t their lifestyle. They had a totally different lifestyle. Education wasn’t one of [their priorities]. . . . It was a hard thing, my parents didn’t believe in education. Especially my mom, she didn’t believe in education, that’s just one thing she didn’t encourage us in.”; “[T]he only reason why my mom allowed us to go to school is she was forced by the [law]—If you don’t go to school, you get in trouble. So that’s the only reason why we were able to go to school, because of that law. If that law wasn’t in place we wouldn’t be going to school.”).p.61 "The move made it harder…another bus to school."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:48:14–19:49:25, 19:54:26–19:56:31 (describing how the DeLuna kids got to school [after they moved out of the projects]: “[I]f we wanted to go to school, we had to take to take the city bus, from the city bus, take the school bus, and from the school bus get to school.”; “take the city bus and from the city bus take the school bus and from the school bus go to school.”).p.61 "She worked her whole life cleaning people's homes."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:48:14–19:49:25:[Margarita] never went to school. My mom couldn’t read or write or speak any English. She totally depended on us kids to help her on everything as far as translating everything for her. That was part of my duty, to help her with all the translation, and so I grew up pretty fast. I had to learn pretty fast how to be an adult quickly. Because of the situation we lived in, because she wasn’t educated. . . . And as far as money-wise it was really hard for them. Because my mom cleaned houses, my step dad was a construction worker, so money was really tight. So if we wanted anything we had to work for it.
See also Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 3 (reporting that Margarita was uneducated and illiterate in Spanish and English); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 2 (“Toni remembered her mother worked for HEB, a grocery store chain, and also cleaned houses.”).p.62 "…When you are old enough to get a job you should be out…working."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:12:12–20:14:13 (“[Y]ou have to understand, [Margarita] never went to school. So I don’t blame her. That’s just the way she was brought up, and a lot of old generation, Mexican generations, that’s how it is. You don’t go to school. Their thoughts are, when you are old enough to get a job you should be out there working, and that’s just the way it is in the Mexican generation.”).p.62 "He was her favorite, her 'consentido'."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:12:46–00:13:09, 00:18:05–00:18:20:00, 00:18:20–00:18:40, 00:19:20–00:19:35 (“Oh, God. She loved Carlos. That was her pride and joy. She would do anything for Carlos, anything. She loved us all, but Carlos, he was her love, he was. She would do anything for him.”; “Consentido? Yeah, I think so. Carlos was her consentido.”; “She loved us all, like I told you. [But with] him, I don’t know why, it was more.”; “It was like he was his favorite son, my mother’s favorite son. She loved him very much.”).p.62 "'I don't know why'…her mother's love 'was more.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:12:46–00:13:09, 00:18:05–00:18:20:00, 00:18:20–00:18:40, 00:19:20–00:19:35.p.62 "Vicki believed…stay out of trouble."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005), at 00:13:09–00:13:50:Maybe [Margarita loved Carlos best] because he started getting in trouble with the law or something like that. That’s what I think. A mother is a mother, even if you are bad. You do bad things, your mother is going to love you. It’s something in a mother that when your son does something wrong to her, she don’t [feel] no wrong. I’m a mother, and that’s the way I feel. My kids are angels to me. Even if they do something wrong, to me, they don’t do no wrong.
Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 3–4 (“Carlos looked like Joe DeLuna, and was their mother’s favorite.”); see also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42 (“She [Margarita] loved Carlos so much.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 2 (“Carlos resembled Joe DeLuna.”).p.62 "Why didn't she…like she did the others?"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42 (“She loved Carlos so much. And there again, I did ask her, why all this special attention to Carlos? You have to understand how the other siblings felt. I always happened to be the outspoken one.”).p.62 "Why was it…helping him?"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:26:00–20:28:29 (“Any time he [Carlos] did something that he wasn’t supposed to be doing, she [Margarita] was there, helping him, constantly.”).p.62 "Margarita believed that there was somethign wrong with Carlos."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) (“I know my mom knew there was something wrong, because she was always helping him. Any time he did something that he wasn’t supposed to be doing, she was there, helping him, constantly.”).p.62 "But this one couldn't make it on his own."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:05:52–20:08:01:[Margarita] said “. . . [P]icture a little bird with a broken wing. That’s your brother. Your brother is the little bird with the broken wing. And the other little birds can take care of themselves; they’ve flown out of the nest. They know how to take care of themselves, so I don’t have to worry about them. But your brother is the one with the broken wing, and he needs help until that broken wing can heal. Then hopefully things will be better for him. And that’s the reason why I am always there for him. Because he’s the little bird with the broken wing.”
Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005), at 20:28:54–20:30:42:She loved Carlos so much. And there again, I did ask her, why all this special attention to Carlos? You have to understand how the other siblings felt. I always happened to be the outspoken one. That’s what she told me. That’s the example she gave me, him having that broken wing, and that’s the reason why. She knew she didn’t have to worry about the other little birds. She knew the other little birds will make it on their own. They’re going to be ok, but this one cannot make it on his own.
See also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:13:09–00:13:50 (“Maybe [her Carlos was her mother’s favorite] because he started getting in trouble with the law or something like that. That’s what I think. A mother is a mother, even if you are bad. You do bad things, your mother is going to love you.”).p.62 "…you know [when] there's something wrong with one."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:26:00–20:28:20 (“My mom raised eight kids, and when you have that many kids, nine kids total, and you see each kid, you know that there’s something wrong with one. So I believe that my mom, even though she never said it—maybe she didn’t know how to say it—she knew that Carlos had a disability issue. She knew that he was slower than the others.”).p.62 "…Carlos had a disability."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:26:00–20:28:20.p.62 "…She knew he wasn't learning the way he should be."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:26:00–20:28:29 (“[M]y mom, even though she never said it—maybe she didn’t know how to say it—she knew that that Carlos had a disability issue. She knew that he was slower than the others. . . . [M]y mom knew there was a problem there with him. She knew that he wasn’t learning the way he should be learning.”).p.62 "…If you look at him…something wrong with him? No."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:14:13–20:16:05 (“Could [Carlos] talk to you like we’re talking right now? Yes. If you look at him and talk to him, do you think there is something wrong with him? No. But if you actually give him something to read, then you would see he had an issue, a learning disability. He did have an issue on that.”).p.62 "And when it came…pick it up, she said."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:25:07–20:25:30 (“Q. I know it’s a very hard word to use, but do you think he was retarded? A. He was slow. He was slow. As far as manual work, and stuff like that, he would watch you do something, and pick it up. But if you would ask him, read this and do it, he couldn’t do it.”).p.62 "He 'couldn't do it.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:14:13–20:16:05, 20:25:10–20:25:20 (“[I]f you actually give him something to read, then you would see he had an issue, a learning disability. He did have an issue on that.”; “[I]f you would ask him, read this and do it, he couldn’t do it.”).p.63 "…Because she knew he had an issue."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:26:00–20:28:29 (“My mom raised eight kids, and when you have that many kids, nine kids total, and you see each kid, you know that there’s something wrong with one. So I believe that my mom, even though she never said it—maybe she didn’t know how to say it—she knew that Carlos had a disability issue.”).p.63 "She didn't help him in his greatest hour of need."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42:So when Carlos was convicted for this murder, my mom was . . . . That was it. She knew, deep in her heart, that there wasn’t . . . . She didn’t know how to get him out of it. If she could, she would. . . . I believe she believes she let him down, knowing that he was that broken wing, and she gave up. She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom. I believe that. She was tired. She was tired. She just did not know what else to do.
p.63 "Shortly before Wanda Lopez…for a ride home."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42, 20:43:57–20:45:42 (“She was the witness that Carlos did call her to come pick him up from the skating rink.”; Margarita “didn’t [get to testify for Carlos]. And that would have helped Carlos. I believe it would have helped him, somehow. But he did call the house.”); see Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 402–07 (“Then my wife told me Carlos wanted us to give him a ride [to the Gulf Skating Rink] . . . well about 7:00, something like that. . . . He called about 8:00 or 8:15 for us to pick him up. . . . [but] I told my wife to tell him to take a taxi to come home because I was drunk.”); see also George Aguirre, Witness to Events Outside Shamrock Gas Station, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 227 (“I got in my van and I got on SPID. . . I got off and I went to . . . the skating rink. . . on Kostroyz [and SPID].”); Map from 2602 South Padre Island Dr., Corpus Christi, Tex. 78415 (the gas station) to 3215 South Padre Island Dr., Corpus Christi, Tex. (the skating rink), Google Maps, http://maps.google.com/maps?saddr=2602+South+Padre+Island+Dr.%2C+Corpus+Christi%2C+TX+78415+&daddr=3215+South+Padre+Island+Dr.%2C+Corpus+Christi (last visited May 3, 2012) (indicating that the distance between the two locations is 1.3 miles). Archived at: http://perma.cc/Q748-698E.p.63 "Carlos had moved in…on parole from prison."Carlos DeLuna, Defendant in Killing of Wanda Lopez, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 834-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 19, 1983) at 410–11 (“Q. Back on February the 4th, 1983, were you working for Triarch Corporation? A. Yes, sir, I was. Q. And how were you able to get that job? A. By my father, stepfather. Q. And what’s his name? A. Blas Avalos. Q. And prior to getting that job, where had you been? . . . A. I was in prison, sir. . . . Q. From the time of your release [on December 21st, 1982] or at the time of your release, where did you go? A. Home, sir. To my stepfather’s house, 2046 Rockford. Q. And was it after that that you were able to get a job? A. After that, sir, yes, sir.”); see supra notes 47–49.p.63 "Blas got Carlos a job…a twenty-year-old."Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 403 (“Q. Were you and Carlos working together for Triarch? A. Yes, sir. Q. Okay. Did you help him get that job? A. Yes, sir.”); Carlos DeLuna, Defendant in Killing of Wanda Lopez, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 410 (“Q. Back on February 4, 1983, were you working for Triarch Corporation? A. Yes, sir, I was. Q. And how were you able to get that job? A. By my father, stepfather. Q. And what’s his name? A. Blas Avalos.”). Carlos’ birthday was March 15, 1962, making him 20 years old at the time of the Lopez murder. See Pre-Disposition Investigation for Carlos DeLuna, Al R. Reyna, Intake Coordinator, Probation Dep’t (June 27, 1978) at 1; Carlos DeLuna, Defendant in Killing of Wanda Lopez, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 410.p.63 "Now he wanted to come back home."Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 402–07 (“Then my wife told me Carlos wanted us to give him a ride [to the Gulf Skating Rink] . . . well about 7:00, something like that. . . . He called about 8:00 or 8:15 for us to pick him up. . . . [but] I told my wife to tell him to take a taxi to come home because I was drunk.”).p.63 "But it was Friday night…Blas had started drinking."Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 405 (“About 5:00 . . . my foreman and I, after we got off the job, we [Blas and the foreman] went to cash our checks and get a beer.”).p.63 "She couldn't see well…drive by herself."Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 402–07 (“Then my wife told me Carlos wanted us to give him a ride [to the Gulf Skating Rink] . . . well about 7:00, something like that. . . . He called about 8:00 or 8:15 for us to pick him up. . . . [but] I told my wife to tell him to take a taxi to come home because I was drunk.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42 (“Carlos did call her to come pick him up from the skating ring. I believe strongly, my mom blames herself for that, for not going out there and trying to get him. I believe she believes she let him down, knowing that he was that [child with a] broken wing, and she gave up. She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:42:15–20:43:31:My mom had a problem in seeing, driving late at night. There again, my step-dad was an alcoholic. As soon as he got paid on Friday . . . he drank ‘till Sunday evening. That’s all he did, was drink Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day long, from the time he would wake up to the time he would pass out. There again, my mom didn’t see that well at night, so when Carlos called her and asked her for a ride, I don’t know if she—She must have probably known something. My step-father must have asked her or told her something, Carlos called, let him find his way or get his transportation back to the house. I think that’s where my mom blames herself. If she would have just went for him. If she would have just got in that car and went and picked him up, he would not have been in the situation that happened.
See also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (“Toni remembered that Carlos had called Margarita and Blas and asked them to pick him up that night [of the Lopez murder], but they were old and did not want to go out at that time of night. It [the crime] happened after that.”).p.63 "As Blas testified…get a cab home."Blas Avalos, Stepfather of Carlos DeLuna, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 407 (“Q. Did you, in fact, go and pick up Carlos? A. No, I told him—I told my wife to tell him to take a taxi to come home because I was drunk.”); Carlos DeLuna, Defendant in Killing of Wanda Lopez, Trial Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 18, 1983) at 417–18 (“Q. Why did you call your stepfather? A. To ask him for a ride, sir, to come pick me up . . . . [I]t was close to 8:00.”).p.63 "Carlos had been counting on Margarita, not his barely-communicative stepfather…"See Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 4 (“I asked about Blas Avalos, Toni and Carlos’s stepfather. Toni did not know where he was living now. He is in very bad shape. He has organic brain syndrome from alcoholism. Toni said Blas was a good provider, but he drank too much. The last time she saw him, he could not remember what he had just eaten, or that he had just eaten. His mind is gone.”). See generally Peso Chavez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (April 5–6, 2004) at 2 (“According to [Rose], after her mother’s death the family became distant and they rarely ever communicate with each other.”).p.63 "…to explain to the jurors…wasn't bent on robbing anyone."See Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42, 20:43:57–20–45:42 (“She [Margarita] was the witness that Carlos did call her to come pick him up from the skating rink.”; Margarita “didn’t [get to testify for Carlos]. And that would have helped Carlos. I believe it would have helped him, somehow. But he did call the house.”); see also Oral Argument on June 20, 1983 Motion for Continuance, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. June 20, 1983) at 3:[Defense Counsel] Lawrence: We intend to prove, Your Honor, that on the date in question, that [Margarita] can place him at the home and with her doing a few errands prior to the time the deceased was killed. Also—she also would testify to the fact that she took him to the Gulf Skating Rink and at some time later that he made a phone call to her and all of this evolves very close to the time that this alleged murder took place.
p.63 "Maybe if the judge…Rose wasn't sure."The Court denied Defendant’s Second Motion for a Continuance, which sought a delay based on his mother’s medical conditions and the importance of her testimony. See Oral Argument on June 20, 1983 Motion for Continuance, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. June 20, 1983) at 99 (discussed supra note 3); Criminal Docket, Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. Feb. 17, 1983) at 3.p.63 "She 'was tired, and she gave up.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:05:17–20:05:48 (“I believe my mom gave up. That’s what I believe. My mom was tired, and she gave up. She just got tired.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42:So when Carlos was convicted for this murder, my mom was—That was it. She knew, deep in her heart, that there wasn’t—She didn’t know how to get him out of it. If she could, she would. . . . Carlos did call her to come pick him up from the skating ring. I believe strongly, my mom blames herself for that, for not going out there and trying to get him. I believe she believes she let him down, knowing that he was that broken wing, and she gave up. She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom. I believe that. She was tired. She was tired. She just did not know what else to do.
See also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 4 (“Toni did not attend the trial, but her sister Mary went every day. A couple of times, Mary took [Toni’s daughter] Belinda with her.”).p.63 "…She believe[d] she'd let him down."See sources cited supra note 88.p.63 "Her mother 'didn't know'…Rose told the investigators."See sources cited supra note 88.p.63 "It was after that…'mom gave up.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42 (“Carlos did call her to come pick him up from the skating rink. I believe strongly, my mom blames herself for that, for not going out there and trying to get him. I believe she believes she let him down, knowing that he was that [child with the] broken wing, and she gave up. She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:42:15–20:43:31:My mom had a problem in seeing, driving late at night. There again, my step-dad was an alcoholic. As soon as he got paid on Friday . . . he drank ‘till Sunday evening. That’s all he did, was drink Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, all day long, from the time he would wake up to the time he would pass out. There again, my mom didn’t see that well at night, so when Carlos called her and asked her for a ride, I don’t know if she—She must have probably known something. My step-father must have asked her or told her something, Carlos called, let him find his way or get his transportation back to the house. I think that’s where my mom blames herself. If she would have just went for him. If she would have just got in that car and went and picked him up, he would not have been in the situation that happened.
p.63-64 "…he had been arrested, and they were not going to let him go."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (“Toni found out about Carlos when he called her and told her he had been arrested, and they were not going to let him go. He did not seem to understand what had happened to him.”).p.64 "…[h]e did not seem to understand what had happened to him."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 4.p.64 "…he would not have been in the situation that happened."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005), at 20:42:15–20:43:31 (“I think that’s where my mom blames herself. If she would have just went for him. If she would have just got in that car and went and picked him up, he would not have been in the situation that happened.”).p.64 "'That's what killed my mom.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:05:17–20:05:48 (“I believe my mom gave up. That’s what I believe. My mom was tired, and she gave up. She just got tired.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:28:54–20:30:42:So when Carlos was convicted for this murder, my mom was . . . That was it. She knew, deep in her heart, that there wasn’t—She didn’t know how to get him out of it. If she could, she would. . . . She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom. . . . She gave up when Carlos was convicted for this murder. That’s what killed my mom. I believe that. She was tired. She was tired. She just did not know what else to do.
See also James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 2:My mother died because of this shit (CDL’s [Carlos DeLuna’s capital murder] arrest and conviction). I was in Dall[a]s working . . . I had no[] funds. I was married to Yolanda and we had a kid or two. I told mom, that he’ll be out again very soon giving you hell. Don’t worry about it. I felt bad (not going back to CC [Corpus Christi] as mom asked), but I had responsibility and I was barely hanging on by my fingernails in Dallas, so I never went back to CC. Now is the first time in my life I can breathe. No worries about money, and some left over.
p.64 "For a long time, Rose admitted, she, too, blamed Margarita."Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 19, 2004) at 6 (“Rose stated that, for a long time, she blamed their mother for Carlos getting the death penalty.”); see also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 03:24:20–03:25:12 (reading from a letter written to her by Carlos DeLuna written in early December 1989):I will go ahead and tell you a little bit about my childhood. Maybe you will be able to understand me a little more. I grew up in a big family. There were nine of us. My real father left when I was only an infant, about five or six months old, and my mother brought us up. I think I was about five or six years old when she married my stepfather. He was a good man but he was an alcoholic. He drank a whole lot. But he always did support us, and he was a good person. But he never really cared, I guess, a whole lot about us. My mother, she was 40 years old when she had me. And she was old, and I guess she was tired of raising kids. But she did try her best. I can’t take anything from her. But one of my sisters does blame my mother. I don’t know why, but she does.
p.64 "'My mom passed away in August of '83.'"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:30:42–20:32:34 (“As I remember, recalling, my mom died in 1983, and this was in August 1983 when my mom passed away. Carlos was, I believe it was in February of ’83, that they claimed that Carlos committed this crime. My mom passed away in August of ’83.”).p.64 "…Promise me that."See sources cited infra note 99 and accompanying text.p.64 "She knew that…especially close to her."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:30:42–20:32:34:I saw her three days before she died. And she did ask me one thing—she didn’t ask any of the other siblings. But she did ask me, because she knew Carlos and I were very close. She did ask me. She said, “I want you to do something for me.” I asked her, “What’s that?” “Promise me you’ll always look out for Carlos, promise me that.” I told her, “Ok, I’ll look after him.” And I couldn’t help him. I did not know how to help him. And I know he didn’t commit this crime. And I blame myself because I wasn’t educated enough to learn about all these words they were saying in the trial, and the paperwork. I didn’t understand it.
Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:48:24–20:49:41, 21:17:23–21:18:30 (“I just did not know how to help him. I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to do.”; “I blamed myself for the longest time. How could I have helped him? If I could have been just a little bit—If I could have been smarter and more educated I could have helped him. I just did not know how to help him. I did not know what to do.”).p.64 "…And I blame myself."See sources cited supra note 99 and accompanying text.p.64 "Rose believed her brother…killed Wanda Lopez."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005), at 20:32:36–20:33:28:He [Carlos] told me he didn’t do it. I asked him, “Carlos, did you do this?” I asked him when he was in Death Row. I asked him, “Did you do this?” He said, “No, I didn’t do it. If you would just go to Corpus, this is where this guy lives. His name is Carlos Hernandez.” He committed the crime. Manuel, my older brother, knows this Carlos Hernandez. I kept saying that over and over to the attorney, I kept saying that over and over, and they were saying that that was a lie, there was no Carlos Hernandez, that they hired private investigators. There was no Carlos Hernandez, it was a made-up name, there’s no such thing.
See also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:23:17–00:23:52 (Carlos “was always saying he didn’t do it. That they were going to execute him. That’s all he would say, he said that he didn’t do it.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005), at 20:48:24–20:49:41 (“At the end, Carlos . . . said, ‘Whatever happens, happens. But I did not commit this crime. I want you to know that.’ I told him, ‘Oh, I know that.’ I just did not know how to help him. I didn’t know. I didn’t know what to do.”).p.64 "…My brother Carlos could not do such a crime…"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:59:44–20:02:58, 21:26:52–21:27:45 (“Carlos DeLuna is not the person they said committed this crime. My brother Carlos could not do such a crime. I know that for a fact and still believe that. I believe that my brother was executed wrongfully. He wasn’t given a chance. And he didn’t commit this I know that. Could he lie? Yes, he lies, he lied. Could he steal? Yeah, he stole. Could he do drugs? Yeah, he did drugs. I know all that. But he could never hurt anyone. Not kill anyone.”; “[M]y brother did not commit that crime. Carlos didn’t commit it. I know that.”); see also Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:38:57–20:39:50 (“But [Carlos had] another side too, as far as stealing, and lying, and sniffing paint.”).p.64 "…But he could never…kill anyone."See sources cited supra note 102 and accompanying text.p.64 "…He was afraid of the dark."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:59:44–20:02:58 (“As growing up as kids, my brother was afraid of the dark. That tells you something about a person. He was afraid of the dark.”).p.65 "…And I feel terrible that I could not help him in any way."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 19:59:44–20:02:58 (“And growing up as kids we had a paper route, he and I had a paper route. We rolled up papers and we would go throw them out early in the morning. He was afraid of a Chihuahua this big. 13-year-old boy afraid of a Chihuahua this big. So I know my brother couldn’t commit such a crime that they say that he did. I know that dead in my heart that he couldn’t commit such a crime.”); see James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 1–2, 4 (“Carlos DeLuna as kid: good kid, until met Ida Sosa. Then life changed. Before that he played. Scared of dogs.”).p.65 "They knew he'd been…a woman to death."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:06:30–00:06:55 (“I never thought that Carlos would do something like that. It was a shock to me when I heard what happened. I know he was a crazy kid that goes out with his friends and stuff like that. But killing? I don’t think he would. It was something I couldn’t believe.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 4 (“No one could believe it when Carlos was arrested for murder.”).p.65 "Carlos's half-sisters…in Mary's."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Vicky Gutierrez, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Garland, Texas (Feb. 27, 2005) at 00:08:00–00:08:19 (“They were very nice kids. They would listen to us. We would take them to the movies, anywhere we wanted to go we would take them. They behaved. They were well-behaved.”); Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Mary Arredando, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 26, 2004) at 3 (“Mary remembered when she, Vicky and Becky were dating. They couldn’t leave the little kids alone, so each sister would pick one child and take them on her date. She laughed about this and said it wasn’t that bad. She often picked Carlos. Mary remembered Carlos as a good boy that was kind and gentle and loving.”); see also Susan Montez’s Notes on Interview with Toni Peña, Half-Sister of Carlos DeLuna (July 25, 2004) at 3 (Carlos’s half-sister “Toni remembered Carlos as very loveable.”).p.65 "Manuel was always…what Manuel said."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005), at 20:20:52–20:21:50:Carlos was a follower. He was a follower. Carlos could never—You have different kinds of categories of people. Carlos was never the instigator. That was always my older brother, Manuel. He was always the instigator. . . . Carlos was a follower, Carlos followed people. . . . I’m not a follower, but when we were kids, I recall our older brother starting up, “We’re going to do this, we’re going to plan this, and you’re going to do this, Carlos, and Rose, you’re going to do this,” because my mom and dad worked. My mom cleaned houses, my dad, step-dad worked at construction. So we stayed home all day during the summer. We were home. And Manuel was the instigator. He would plan stuff and we would follow. So Carlos was a follower, Carlos followed people.
p.65 "They were quickly caught…for skipping school."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:22:00–20:23:12 (“My mother, Manuel and Carlos, one Christmas, bought them bicycles. Manuel was the instigator, and they were going to take off from Corpus Christi, Texas, all the way to Dallas, Texas. I have brothers and sisters living in Dallas, older brothers and sisters living in Dallas, in Garland, Texas. Manuel planned that they were going to take these two bicycles, ride these two bicycles all the way to Dallas. They got caught, got thrown into juvenile . . . .”).p.65 "That was Carlos…his older brother misbehaved."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:22:00–20:23:12:Carlos would follow right behind [Manuel], constantly. And Carlos would always take the blame for Manuel, and then he [Manuel] would always blame us, [saying that] myself and my brother, Carlos did it. We’re the ones that did it, we’re the ones that set it all up, and we’re to blame. We would get in trouble, and Carlos would always take the blame. He would never say, “What. It was Manuel.” It was always Carlos taking the blame for Manuel, constantly.
p.65 "…It was always Carlos taking the blame for Manuel…"Transcribed Videotape Interview with Rose Rhoton, Sister of Carlos DeLuna, in Houston, Tex. (Feb. 26, 2005) at 20:22:00–20:23:12.p.66 "…He could be brainwashed to do anything."James S. Liebman’s Notes on Interview with Manuel DeLuna, Brother of Carlos DeLuna (Aug. 17, 2004) at 2 (“My brother was not a leader; he was a follower. He could be brainwashed to do anything. He was a good kid.”).p.66 "At Carlos's trial…as a teenager."Eddie Garza, Corpus Christi Police Detective, Sentencing Test., Texas v. DeLuna, No. 83-CR–194-A (Nueces Cty., 28th Dist. Tex. July 21, 1983) at 11–12 (“Q. Are you familiar with the reputation he [Carlos DeLuna] enjoys in this community for being a peaceable and law-abiding citizen? A. [by Garza]: Yes, I am. Q. Is that reputation good or bad? A. It’s bad.”); see Transcribed Videotape Interview with Karen Boudrie-Evers, Corpus Christi Television Reporter, in Dallas, Texas (Feb. 28, 2005) at 02:59:38–03:00:38 (“I knew [Detective] Eddie [Garza]. He was a nice guy. He had a good reputation just as being a good guy and a good cop . . . . Paul [Rivera] and Eddie were like Batman and Robin. At that time, they were the greatest detectives ever.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Jon Kelly, Lawyer for Carlos Hernandez, in Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 9, 2004) at 06:22:16–06:24:02, 06:24:24–06:25:40 (“The two gentleman in the picture with Carlos [DeLuna] there, to his left and to the right of the picture [are] Eddie Garza, and just behind Carlos is Paul Rivera, now I believe Chief Deputy of the Nueces County Sheriff’s Office. They were the top murder investigators for the CCPD at that time”; “Eddie and Paul were conscientious. They were very good investigators. . . . They were the city’s top murder investigators. . . . [T]hey were tough, but in the end, they tried to be fair.”); Transcribed Videotape Interview with Jon Kelly, Lawyer for Carlos Hernandez, in Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 9, 2004) at 06:25:40–06:27:36:The two gentlemen in the picture with Carlos Hernandez are, the first one is Eddie Garza, and the other officer behind Carlos [DeLuna] is Paul Rivera. Eddie and Paul were the two top investigators for the Corpus Christi Police Department. There were even people senior, but if you had a serious murder case, and you wanted it investigated seriously, you wanted Eddie and Paul. They were considered the top people. I mean, if there were others involved they usually were on the periphery, and Paul and Eddie would do the serious, on-the-ground investigation. They could, at times, be ruthless, but they had—Actually, I didn’t think they were violent men. I dealt with them in numerous cases. It wasn’t the stereotypical picture of hitting people or anything, they didn’t do things like that. Sometimes they had tunnel vision, and sometimes the forest for the trees was lost. But in the end, they would see the light, and their reputation was that they were fair men. And that, if shown, or if they came upon evidence that would harm their case, but actually, they thought, led to a different result, they wouldn’t hide it.
Tamara Theiss’s Notes on Interview with Olivia Escobedo, Corpus Christi Police Detective in Wanda Lopez and Dahlia Sauceda Cases (Feb. 27, 2005) at 1 (“I worked under [Detectives] Paul Rivera and Eddie Garza. . . . [T]hey taught me everything I know about how to work up a case. They really acted as my mentors . . . [and] taught me to go down every rabbit hole to see where it led, no matter what the result . . . [and] investigate every angle and every lead in a case, even if it didn’t pan out.”).p.66 "Garza worked…knew all the troublemakers."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Eddie Garza, Corpus Christi Police Detective, in Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 6, 2004) at 00:27:32–00:27:59 (“We had a tendency, me and my partner, that we would stop and talk to all the people that were hanging around in that [Hispanic] area [ofr town near Staples and Mary Streets], try to identify who was hanging around with who, and who ran with who, in case later on there was a crime committed, we could actually pinpoint, by description of these individuals, who might be involved in these particular crimes that were committed in that general area.”).p.66 "…He was just a slow thinker, a follower, not a leader."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Eddie Garza, Corpus Christi Police Detective, in Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 6, 2004) at 00:37:43–00:38:47:Carlos DeLuna was sort of a slow thinker. I wouldn’t say he that he was a complete retarded person. He was just slow in thinking. And he wasn’t a violent person that I can remember. He was just a slow person, a follower, someone that, they would tell him “Go do this” or “Go do that” and the guy would follow what someone else told him. He wasn’t a person that would stand up and think on his own what he was going to do. Most of his habits was really intoxication and petty theft, but nothing in the violent part of . . . that you would say Carlos DeLuna is a very violent person. Never, never did I have anything dealing with any violence. Mostly it was just that he was a slow thinker . . . . He was just a slow thinker, a follower, not a leader.
p.66 "…He wasn't a person…he was going to do."Transcribed Videotape Interview with Eddie Garza, Corpus Christi Police Detective, in Corpus Christi, Texas (Dec. 6, 2004) at 00:37:43–00:38:47.p.66 "…His attention span is extremely short."Duncan Ryan, Teacher, Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Student Referral for Special Services (undated) at 1:Name of Pupil: Carlos DeLuna. Age: 11. Grade: 6. It is suggested that the student be referred for: Psychological/Educational Evaluation. 1. Briefly Describe The Reasons for Referral: . . . Carlos is a discipline problem in class. If the teacher turns his back for a minute, Carlos has gotten up and moved. He interferes with his classmates’ learning. He can read but can’t comprehend. He is lost on abstract concepts such as fractions. He does pretty well one-to-one but can’t function in even a small group. His attention span is extremely short.
p.66 "Medical and psychological tests…"See Judy Braselton, Educational Diagnostician, Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Psychological Report (Apr. 9, 1974) at 1–2 (“Tests Administered: Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (Bilingual administration); Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (Bilingual Administration); Illinois Test of Psycholinguistic Abilities (Revised); Bender-Gestalt Test of Visual Motor Skills; Benton’s Visual Retention Test; Wide Range Achievement Test; Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test.”).p.66 "…'language learning disorder.'"Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Medical Assessment Record for Carlos DeLUna (Feb. 26, 1976) at 4 (reporting that “Carlos was tested on 3–8–74” and found to have “language learning disorder LLD” and was recommended for assignment to the resource room).p.66 "He could understand…phrases and sentences."Judy Braselton, Educational Diagnostician, Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Psychological Report (Apr. 9, 1974) at 1–2:Test interpretation: Carlos’ overall intellectual skills appear to be on the level of a ten year old. His ability to do non-verbal tasks seems to be somewhat better than his ability to do verbal tests with his non-verbal skills being in the low average range. Although his receptive vocabulary skills seem to be in the average range, his expressive vocabulary is more like that of an eight year old. However, it seems likely that his receptive vocabulary might be below average when phrases and sentences are involved rather than just single words. Carlos’ visual motor skills seem to be stronger than his auditory skills. He probably understands what he sees more readily than what he hears. Thus, when information is presented verbally, it might help Carlos if as many visual cues as possible are used. For instance, when directions are given, as in an art activity, he may have difficulty if they are presented only verbally. He may need to see a demonstration in order to understand what is expected. Carlos also seems to have difficulty discriminating between words that sounds similar. Although in general, Carlos’ visual skills are stronger, in the area of memory he seems to remember what he hears better than what he sees. However, this may not hold true when words are used rather than numbers, or he may be able to repeat something but may not understand it. When he is being asked to learn and remember, it may help him if he can use both sight and hearing, as well as any other senses that could be involved. Also distractions in the class may prevent him from using his auditory memory skills to his best advantage. Carlos appears to have difficulty with coordination. On pencil and paper tasks he seems to perform more like a student between 7½ and 8½ years old. On same tasks requiring him to copy designs or reproduce designs from memory, his most frequent errors occurred when the stimulus figure was on the right side of the page. The latter may suggest visual difficulties particularly in the right visual field. In terms of measured achievement, Carlos’ math skills appear to be on a high third grade level. He can do problems with regrouping but it seems he needs to extend his skills in multiplication and division. His reading skills appear to be on the fourth grade level. He tries to attack words phonetically but has some difficulty with medial sounds. In summary, Carlos is performing overall more like a ten year old. His visual skills seem stronger than his auditory skills in general. At present he appears to be achieving two years below grade level.
p.66 "Things he heard…but he rarely did."See supra note 120.p.66 "The psychologist recommended special education classes in reading and math."See Judy Braselton, Educational Diagnostician, Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Psychological Report (Apr. 9, 1974) at 2–3:When he is being asked to learn and remember, it may help him if he can use both sight and hearing, as well as any other senses that could be involved. Also distractions in the class may prevent him from using his auditory memory skills to his best advantage. . . . Recommendation: The local Admission, Review, and Dismissal Committee might consider the following recommendations: . . . Placement in a resource room instructional setting.
See supra note 120 (documenting DeLuna’s deficits in reading and math that led to the special-education recommendation).p.66 "They concluded that he had 'low average I.Q.'…"Review Committee, Corpus Christi Ind. Sch. Dist., Special Education: Admission, Review and Dismissal Committee Report (Apr. 9, 1976) at 1 (“Essential Information: Low average I.Q. Has been a discipline problem. Has weaknesses in abstract reasoning & visual memory; strengths in visual reception, . . . & auditory memory. . . . Summary and Recommendations from Committee: Placement: Initially, this student might benefit from 2–3 hours/periods each day in the resource room; . . . Recommended subject areas in resource room: recommend resource in history and science.”).