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Domingo CANTU Jr.

 
 
 
 
 

 

 

 

 
 
 
Classification: Murderer
Characteristics: Rape
Number of victims: 1
Date of murder: June 25, 1988
Date of arrest: Same day
Date of birth: June 7, 1968
Victim profile: Suda Eller Jones (94-year-old widow)
Method of murder: Beating her head against a concrete sidewalk
Location: Dallas County, Texas, USA
Status: Executed by lethal injection in Texas on October 28, 1999
 
 
 
 
 
 

 

Date of Execution:
October 28, 1999
Offender:
Cantu, Domingo #924
Last Statement:

English:

I love you. I will be waiting for you on the other side. Son be strong no matter what happens, know that God is looking over you. Jesus mercy, Jesus mercy, Jesus mercy!

Spanish:

Brother-in-law, take care of the family and let it be united. Yoli.

German:

Menic schone prizessin. Du list all mine herz and seele, rind ich liele dich so sehm!

(Translation: My beautiful princess. You are all my heart and soul and I love you so much.)

 

Texas Attorney General

MEDIA ADVISORY: DOMINGO CANTU, JR. SCHEDULED TO BE EXECUTED

Wednesday, October 27, 1999

AUSTIN - Texas Attorney General John Cornyn offers the following information on Domingo Cantu, Jr., who is scheduled to be executed after 6 p.m., Thursday, October 28th.

FACTS OF THE CRIME

In 1988, 94-year-old widow Suda Eller Jones was not as mobile as she once had been, recently requiring the assistance of a cane to walk about. Nevertheless, Ms. Jones had a morning routine of walking around the yard of her home which she had resided at in the Oak Cliff section of Dallas, Texas, since 1928.

On Saturday morning, June 25, 1988, at approximately 8:00 a.m., Fred Oakes, a neighbor of Ms. Jones, was working in his yard when he heard screams of "help." Oakes recognized the screams as Ms. Jones', and, when he turned toward her yard, he saw Domingo Cantu dragging Ms. Jones from her front yard, down her driveway, and into her backyard.

Oakes ran to Ms. Jones' yard where he observed a slipper, a cane, and a hairnet lying on the ground. Oakes ran down Ms. Jones' driveway calling out for her. After receiving no reply and not seeing Ms. Jones, Oakes telephoned the police.

Two Dallas police officers arrived at the scene at approximately 8:08 a.m., where they spoke with Oakes, receiving a description of the man he had seen dragging Ms. Jones into her backyard. The officers called for additional support then drove around the block to an alley which ran behind the row of homes on Ms. Jones' side of the street.

As the officers entered the alley, they observed Cantu jump from some bushes and run away from them. Cantu was not wearing a shirt, matched the description the officers had received from Oakes, and had blood on the shirt he was holding in his hand, blood on his face, hands, legs, and shoes, and what appeared to be feces on his pants, legs, and shoes.

Cantu stopped when ordered to do so, and when the officers approached him, they noticed that he had a faint smell of alcohol on his breath. Cantu did not appear to be intoxicated by drugs. Rather, he was coherent and rational and appeared to understand everything being said to him. Cantu was handcuffed, read his rights, then placed in the police car while the officers went to search for Ms. Jones.

After Ms. Jones' cane and hairnet were found in the front yard of her home, Ms. Jones was located in the backyard of an adjoining property. This property was separated from Ms. Jones' backyard by a four-foot-tall chain link fence. Ms. Jones was lying face down in a pool of blood, her upper torso and buttocks exposed. A paramedic at the scene observed that Ms. Jones had apparent massive head injuries, which included large gashes protruding several inches into her head.

On the side of the fence where Ms. Jones was located, a crime scene technician collected one shoe and a torn and bloody nightgown. Drag marks leading from where the cane was found to the fence in the backyard were also observed and photographed. Injuries to Ms. Jones' back were consistent with her having been dragged over the top of the chain link fence. A large piece of wire with blood on it was also found near Ms. Jones. A hair, consistent with Ms. Jones' hair, was recovered from the zipper of Cantu's pants. Serology tests indicated that Ms. Jones' blood type was on Cantu's shirt and underwear and the piece of wire.

An autopsy revealed that Ms. Jones was 63 inches tall and weighed 97 and a half pounds at the time of her death. She had multiple injuries to her head, neck, trunk, and extremities. On Ms. Jones' head, the medical examiner found lacerations on both sides of the forehead, bruising around both eyes, abrasions above the right eye and below the left eye, abrasions on the right side of the nose and the left side of the chin, a laceration on the inside of the lower lip, and fractures of the cheek bones and nasal bridge.

An internal examination revealed multiple hemorrhaging under these head injuries, lacerations on the brain, and a skull fracture caused by a "marked force" like that commonly seen with car accident victims. On Ms. Jones' trunk, the medical examiner found bruising on the left breast, abrasions over the left clavicle, abrasions on the back, and fractures of the rib cage on both sides (eight ribs on each side were broken).

The sternum was broken in two places. Ms. Jones was alive when her ribs and sternum were broken. On Ms. Jones' extremities, the medical examiner found bruising and abrasions on Ms. Jones' arms, thighs, and heels. Injuries to Ms. Jones' back, thighs, and heels, were consistent with her having been dragged across the ground and over a fence.

Injuries to Ms. Jones' vagina included a laceration of the posterior wall which extended to the rectal area. Although the presence of seminal fluids was not detected, the vaginal injuries were consistent with having been caused by a penis or some other object (including the large piece of wire with blood on it recovered near Ms. Jones' body). An anal assault could not be ruled out. Ultimately, the medical examiner opined that the cause of Ms. Jones' death was "multiple blunt impact injuries to head, neck, trunk, and extremities." The injuries to her head alone were fatal.

After being arrested, Cantu remained in the police car at the scene for approximately two hours then was transported to the county jail. At the jail, Cantu was given a change of clothing and his clothes were collected as evidence. Cantu was then transported to the lead detective's office, arriving at approximately 10:45 a.m. At approximately 11:25 a.m., the lead detective arrived back at his office, then went to an interview room to speak with Cantu.

Cantu was again warned of his rights and, by 11:55 a.m., had given two written statements confessing to the rape and murder of Ms. Jones. Cantu did not appear to be intoxicated by drugs or alcohol at the time of the statements. Shortly after noon, Cantu was transported to a physical evidence facility then back to the county jail. At approximately 4:30 p.m., Cantu was arraigned before a magistrate judge. The magistrate judge did not observe any signs of intoxication, rather Cantu appeared to be perfectly in control of his faculties.

Approximately two weeks after being arrested, a detention officer with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department checked Cantu's cell and found him hanging from a beam. Cantu had apparently tied a sheet to the vent and attempted to hang himself. A nurse was called, and Cantu, who was unconscious, was sent to a nearby hospital. Cantu later told the officer that he did not remember the incident.

Recently, in October 1999, the state trial court granted Cantu permission to have DNA testing, which was not available at the time of trial, conducted on his t-shirt and underwear. The victim's DNA was positively matched to the blood on Cantu's t-shirt (a 1 in more than 4 billion match). Additionally, the victim's DNA matched several genetic profiles of the blood found on Cantu's underwear and she could not, therefore, be excluded as the donor of that blood.

PROCEDURAL HISTORY

On August 26, 1988, Cantu was indicted by a Dallas County grand jury for the intentional murder of Suda Eller Jones in the course of committing and attempting to commit the offense of aggravated sexual assault on Suda Eller Jones, a capital offense.

Cantu was tried before a jury upon a plea of not guilty, and, on October 26, 1988, the jury found him guilty of the capital offense. On November 1, 1988, following a separate punishment hearing, the jury answered affirmatively the two special sentencing issues, and in accordance with state law, the trial court (the 195th District Court of Dallas County, Texas) sentenced Cantu to death.

Cantu's conviction and sentence of death were automatically appealed to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which affirmed on June 3, 1992, and denied rehearing on September 30, 1992. The United States Supreme Court denied Cantu's petition for certiorari review on June 28, 1993, and denied rehearing on August 9, 1993.

Cantu filed an application for state writ of habeas corpus in the convicting court on April 7, 1994. On June 6, 1994, the convicting court entered an order adopting the findings of fact and conclusions of law set forth in the state's response and recommending that the application be denied. On June 22, 1994, the Court of Criminal Appeals denied relief upon the basis that the findings and conclusions of the convicting court were supported by the record. Cantu did not seek certiorari review to the United States Supreme Court.

Cantu proceeded into federal court by filing a federal habeas petition in the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas on July 1, 1994. On July 28, 1997, the district court entered an order adopting the findings of a magistrate judge and denying habeas relief. The district court also denied Cantu permission to appeal. After briefing and oral argument by the parties, the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit similarly denied permission to appeal on August 18, 1999, affirming the district court's denial of habeas relief. Cantu then filed a petition for writ of certiorari with the United States Supreme Court. The matter is pending before the Court.

PRIOR CRIMINAL HISTORY

At the punishment phase of trial, the State introduced evidence reflecting a number of juvenile offenses Cantu had committed. In May 1981, Cantu admitted to stealing money from a teacher's assistant's purse and money from a desk drawer that the teacher's assistant had collected from other students for their lunch tickets. On November 8, 1983, Cantu was arrested, after fleeing from the police, for burglary of a building (a car wash).

On July 10, 1983, at 1 a.m., Dallas police officer Judith Skibinski arrested Cantu in front of a grocery store after observing him burglarize a newspaper vending machine. While being transported to the station, Cantu informed an accomplice not to worry about being arrested because he had been there before and nothing would happen to them because they were juveniles.

In February 1984, Cantu was convicted as a juvenile for the car wash burglary and placed on probation for one year. On May 13, 1984, Officer Skibinski arrested Cantu for another burglary of a coin operated vending machine. Cantu remarked that he had gotten away with the burglaries so many times that the few times he had been caught were worth it. On July 16, 1984, Cantu was convicted as a juvenile for the May 13, 1984, burglary, and his probation was extended for another year.

The State also introduced evidence reflecting a number of offenses Cantu committed as an adult. On October 16, 1985, Cantu was arrested, after fleeing from, then struggling with, the police, for burglary of a motor vehicle and resisting arrest. On November 15, 1985, in cause no. F85-91107-PV, Cantu pled guilty and was convicted of the felony offense of burglary of a vehicle, and was placed on three years probation by the 292nd District Court of Dallas County, Texas.

On November 19, 1985, in cause no. MA85-60353, Cantu pled guilty and was convicted of the misdemeanor offense of resisting arrest, and was placed on probation for one year by the County Criminal Court No. 8 of Dallas County, Texas. Thereafter, Cantu committed a number of probation violations and, eventually, the conditions of his felony probation were modified to require him to be admitted to a halfway house type facility for six to twelve months. However, prior to completing the program, Cantu absconded from the facility on March 10, 1987, resulting in a warrant being issued for his arrest.

On July 3, 1987, Cantu was a passenger in the back seat of vehicle stopped for failing to signal. When officers approached the vehicle, they observed that Cantu had an open container of paint thinner between his legs. Cantu refused to identify himself and struggled with the officers while being removed from the vehicle. Eventually, the officers subdued Cantu, placing him in handcuffs and leg restraints. Cantu became increasingly violent while being transported to the jail and threatened, "When I get loose, I'm going to blow your fucking brains out. If I ever see you in West Dallas again, I'm going to kick your ass." Cantu continued to be physically uncooperative once they got to the jail, and he had to be loaded onto a flat dolly and wheeled into the jail.

On July 8, 1987, Cantu's felony probation in cause no. F85-91107-PV was revoked and Cantu was sentenced to two years in the Texas Department of Corrections. Cantu was released onto parole on October 6, 1987.

Gary Lashley, a potential juror at the instant trial who ultimately was excluded as a potential juror, described Cantu's attempt to escape during jury selection. While Lashley was being questioned by the defense, Cantu jumped up and ran to the back door of the courtroom. However, Cantu was knocked down because the door he slammed into was locked. At the time, Cantu had a leg brace on one leg that held the leg straight. The officer in charge of transporting Cantu to and from the courtroom overheard Cantu say to other inmates that he would try again.

DRUGS AND/OR ALCOHOL

According to Cantu's testimony at the punishment phase of trial, his life of crime was attributable to alcohol, marijuana, and cocaine abuse, as well as the use of inhalants such as paint thinner. Regarding the instant offense, Cantu testified that he was "coming down" from an all-night cocaine binge and had no recollection of committing this offense.

 
 

Domingo Cantu was sentenced to die for the murder of Suda Elder Jones, a 94-year-old woman who was beaten, raped and killed by being hit with a concrete block. 

Cantu was arrested shortly after the murder and gave police a statement about the crimes. 

Cantu's lawyers recently demanded and received DNA testing they claimed would prove his innocence, however, the tests only reinforced his guilt.

 
 

Domingo Cantu Jr, 31, was executed on Oct. 28, 1999 for the rape and murder of 94-year-old Suda Eller Jones.  The victim was the oldest capital murder victim in Texas. 

Cantu was a man with a violent history.  He was on probation for brawling with a police officer. He was also involved in many petty thefts.  At the trial, a woman testified that he had also robbed her the day of the murder. While on death row, he stabbed and nearly killed fellow inmate Rulford Garfield Aldridge in the neck with a shank fashioned from a typewriter key.

Brigitte Cantu, his wife, and a son were among Cantu's survivors.  According to defense attorney David K. Sergi of San Marcos, Brigitte has since married two other death row inmates.  She has an urn with a collection of all of their ashes in it and is currently living in Germany.  She married all of them after they were on death row.

On the morning of June 25, 1988, Jones was watering her flowers when Cantu walked by.  He spontaneously grabbed her, pulled her around to her own back yard and over the fence.  There he brutally assaulted her with a utility cable, raped her and bashed her head into the cement until she died.

A neighbor, Fred Oakes, called 911 upon hearing Jones' screams.  He witnessed Cantu fleeing the scene with blood on his clothes.  He was apprehended minutes later by Leonard Garza. 

Cantu admitted his guilt in a statement taken by Thomas Belcher on the day of the crime.  Sergi said this was because, "Police are usually overbearing to someone with his mental condition."  Cantu later insisted that he was innocent and his lawyers pleaded insanity due to the intoxication of alcohol, drugs, and the brutality of the murder.  Sergi said the jury looked more into the fact that Jones was 94 years old than at the plea of insanity.   

Cantu's case was appealed twice.  Before his last appeal, he was approved for DNA testing.  The results that came back proved that he was guilty.

He was convicted of murder on Oct. 26, 1988, and sentenced to death on Nov. 1, 1988.  After being on death row for almost 11 years, he was executed at the age of 31.  His sister and wife both witnessed the execution. He spoke in German and Spanish to his wife and brother-in-law.  He told his son to "be strong no matter what happens."  Then he said "Jesus mercy" three times before losing consciousness.  Cantu was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m. on Oct. 28, 1999.

 
 

Domingo Cantu Jr.

Txexecutions.org

Domingo Cantu Jr., 31, was executed by lethal injection on 28 October 1999 in Huntsville, Texas, for the rape and murder of a 94-year-old woman.

On 25 June 1988, Suda Eller Jones. 94, was taking her morning walk in front of her home in Dallas when Domingo Cantu Jr., then 20, accosted her. Jones yelled for help as Cantu dragged her into her back yard. Once in her back yard, Cantu dragged her over a chain link fence into the back yard of an adjoining property. He raped her, then beat her head on the sidewalk repeatedly until she was dead.

A neighbor, Fred Oakes, was working in his yard when he heard Jones scream for help. He saw a man dragging her into her backyard. Oakes ran to her front yard and saw her cane, slipper, and hair net lying on the ground. He called for her and received no reply. He then called the police.

Two Dallas police officers arrived after about eight minutes. After speaking with Oakes, they drove around the block. While searching, they saw Cantu jump out of some bushes and run away. He had blood on his face, hands, legs, and shoes. The police ordered him to stop, and he did.

Police then found Jones. She was lying face down in a pool of blood, partially nude. She had multiple large head wounds. She also had injuries on her back which were consistent with being dragged over the fence that separated the two properties. She also had abrasions all over her head and face, brusies all over her body, sixteen broken ribs, and a broken sternum. Her vagina was also injured.

Cantu confessed to the crime. While he was awaiting trial, he attempted to commit suicide by hanging himself with a sheet. At his trial, he pleaded not guilty. Forensics technicians testified that a pubic hair recovered from Cantu's zipper belonged to Jones. Her blood was on Cantu's shirt and underwear. Also at his trial, a witness testified that hours before Jones's murder, Cantu assaulted her at a bus stop, tried to pull down her pants, and stole her purse. She identified Cantu as her assailant from the distinctive scorpion tattoo on his neck. Cantu confessed to this assault in court.

Cantu had numerous prior arrests and convictions for burglary. He was placed on probation twice as a juvenile and twice as an adult. Eventually, he was sentenced to stay in a halfway house for six to twelve months. When he fled the facility in March 1987, a warrant was issued for his arrest. After he was arrested in July 1987, his probation was revoked and he was sentenced to two years in prison. He was paroled in October 1987 after serving less than seven weeks of his sentence. (Early release was common in Texas at the time because of strict prison population caps imposed by U.S. District Judge William Wayne Justice.) He also attempted to break out of the courtroom once during his trial.

A jury found Cantu guilty of capital murder in October 1988 and sentenced him to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals affirmed the conviction and sentence in June 1992. All of his subsequent appeals in state and federal court were denied.

From death row, Cantu wrote letters to anti-death penalty groups, claiming innocence. He wrote that when he was arrested, he knew nothing about what was going on. At the police station, "a detective ... questioned me about a murder I knew nothing about," he wrote. Later, the detective "asked me to sign to pieces of paper, so I could be released. Being that I was practically illiterate at the time, I asked what were the pieces of paper and he told me they were my statements to what we talked about, so I signed them without having him read them to me." Cantu claimed that all of the physical evidence used against him was fabricated.

In 1993, Cantu stabbed and wounded a fellow death row inmate in the throat with a 13-inch shiv fashioned out of a typewriter key.

In 1999, Cantu received permission to have DNA testing conducted on his shirt and underwear. The victim's DNA was positively matched to the blood on his clothing.

Cantu expressed love to his family in his last statement. He was pronounced dead at 6:23 p.m.

 
 

Domingo Cantu, 31, 99-10-28, Texas

A convicted burglar with a violent history was executed Thursday night for raping and fatally beating a 94-year-old woman who was watering the flowers outside her Dallas home more than 11 years ago.

Domingo Cantu was pronounced dead at 6:23, 9 minutes after the flow of lethal drugs began.

In a brief final statement, the 31-year-old Cantu spoke in German and Spanish before switching to English.

"I love you. I'll be waiting for you on the other side," he said to his wife, who witnessed the execution. "Be strong. No matter what happens, God is looking over you."

Then he said the words "Jesus Mercy" 3 times before losing consciousness.

His sister, watching through a window a few feet away, waved an eagle feather, making the sign of a cross and then moving it in a circular motion.

Cantu was condemned for murdering Suda Eller Jones the morning of June 25, 1988, outside the home where she'd lived since 1928 in Dallas' Oak Cliff section.

The U.S. Supreme Court Wednesday rejected Cantu's final appeal and a request to delay the execution.

Cantu insisted he was innocent. On an Internet site dedicated to Cantu, the half-Hispanic, half-Apache former painter called himself "an American Indian warrior held hostage in my homeland."

"I cannot and will not lay down systematically for this `barbarity' and `madness' called justice," he wrote in a letter posted on the Italy-based Web site.

Appeals attorneys successfully petitioned this month to allow DNA testing of Cantu's bloody clothing. The technology was unavailable in 1988.

Cantu said the tests would exonerate him of the crime, but results showed the blood on his shirt and underwear matched the victim's blood.

Evidence showed Cantu grabbed Ms. Jones in the front yard of her home and dragged her across her patio into the back yard, then hauled the 97-pound woman over a 4-foot-high chain-link fence, beat, raped and sodomized her.

Her screams alerted a neighbor who called police, but by the time officers arrived Ms. Jones was dead. Among the battered woman's injuries were fractures to eight ribs on each side of her body. Medical examiners determined she died after her head had been slammed into the concrete repeatedly.

"The lady had lived in the house for 60 years and was out watering her flowers," Andy Beach, a former Dallas County assistant district attorney who helped prosecute Cantu, said this week. "You just couldn't find a worse crime."

"He was just a predator looking for a weaker victim," added Marshall Gandy, the lead prosecutor in the case.

Police caught Cantu near the house within minutes. He was covered with blood and feces and was trying to run down an alley.

At his trial, evidence showed he had been tied to thefts in school beginning at age 12 and was arrested early in his teens for taking money from vending machines. By his mid-teens, he had graduated to burglary, fought with police trying to arrest him and went to prison for 2 years after failing to live up to terms of probation.

A witness told how hours before Ms. Jones' murder, he assaulted her at a bus stop, tried to pull down her pants, then took off with her purse.

The woman had little difficulty identifying him, pointing out a scorpion tattoo on the right side of his neck.

At the punishment phase of his trial, Cantu testified he had injected himself with cocaine more than 10 times the night before the murder. He also confessed on the stand to the assault at the bus stop.

During jury selection at the murder trial, he bolted from the defense table and tried to flee out a back door of the courtroom. The door was locked.

"I can still remember hearing the sound of him hitting that door and bouncing back about 15 feet," Beach said. "It's not a laughing deal whenever anybody is executed. But I have no problems with him. He's getting what he deserved."

6 years ago, prison officials said he stabbed and wounded a fellow death row inmate in the throat with a 13-inch stiletto fashioned out of a typewriter key.

Cantu becomes the 28th condemned prisoner to be put to death this year in Texas, and the 192nd overall since the state resumed capital punishment on Dec. 7, 1982. Cantu becomes the 105th condemned prisoner to be put to death during the governorship of George Bush Jr.

(sources: Associated Press & Rick Halperin)

  


 

Domingo Cantu's Pen-Pal Request

Hello to everybody reading this!   I am very interested in seeking pen-pals and making 'new friends' to help keep my mind busy. I am not looking for Romance. Only for friendship. If you are interested in forming a friendship with someone incarcerated on 'Death Row' then get your pen and paper together (or your Typewriter) and write to me and introduce yourself.

I enjoy receiving and reading letters from people all over, so I don't care where you're from i.e. Over Seas or Stateside. I am very open minded and quite understanding. I often speak from the very depths of my soul and mean everything I say from the tip of my heart. I believe 'friendship' is a lot more than just sharing thoughts, hopes, dreams and experiences  in life.

The type of friendship I enjoy is "Soul Felt." If you are prepared to embrace such a strong soul-felt relationship them Itm the person youtre looking for. I enjoy sharing the essence of my being with caring people like yourself and expect the same in return. I do promise you one thing; If you choose to correspond with me,  it will be an experience you've never  known before.  

Here is a little about myself so you can get a glimpse of who I am and my hobbies. I am a 31 year old Native American Indian from the  'White Mountain Apache tribe.'  I have been incarcerated for Ii years.

I have a daughter who I don't know and have only met a few times since my imprisonment. She is now 11 years old. My hopes are to see her again and try getting to know her from within these walls.

My hobbies are writing, playing chess,  exercising, drawing (when I'm not busy), and reading. I enjoy reading mostly anything, but some of my favorite authors are John Grisham, Dean Koontz, Stephen King,  Patricia Cornwell, and Jackie Collins.  

Here is my name and address incase you are. interested in corresponding with me. Your age and race does not matter. Only that you are sincere in forming a soul-felt friendship. I look forward to hearing from you so please write soon. And if possible a picture of yourself with your first letter would be very pleasing.

Take Care!

Sincerely "In Struggle"

  


 

Judge OKs test of inmate's DNA in 1988 Oak Cliff rape, murder

By Rick Klein / The Dallas Morning News

10/09/99

A Dallas judge has approved DNA tests for a man who has spent 11 years on death row, signaling what some say is a new willingness by the judiciary to re-examine old cases.

Domingo Cantu Jr., 31, is scheduled to be executed Oct. 28 for the 1988 rape and murder of a 94-year-old Oak Cliff woman, Suda Eller Jones.

One of Mr. Cantu's attorneys, David Sergi of San Marcos, persuaded state District Judge John Nelms this week to order DNA tests on bloody clothing Mr. Cantu was wearing the day of the crime.

The clothing could not be analyzed for DNA in 1988 because the technology was not advanced enough, Mr. Sergi said. In a meeting Wednesday with Dallas County prosecutors and Judge Nelms, Mr. Sergi argued that Mr. Cantu is entitled to DNA tests on the clothing because such tests are now possible.

He based his request in part on the recommendations of the National Commission on the Future of DNA Evidence. The commission, organized last year by U.S. Attorney General Janet Reno to help identify uses of DNA technology, issued a report Sept. 27 encouraging prosecutors and judges to consider reopening cases in which DNA tests could prove a convict's innocence.

Mike Carnes, Dallas County first assistant district attorney, said his office has agreed to post-conviction DNA tests in the past. However, he opposed Mr. Sergi's request because he considered it frivolous.

"There was uncontroverted evidence of his guilt," Mr. Carnes said. "Why should you go to the trouble of doing the DNA when you have absolutely no question as to guilt?"

Mr. Sergi said if the blood found on his client's clothing is proved not to be Mrs. Jones', the conviction is thrown into doubt and Mr. Cantu should get a new trial.

"This is the first time any [Texas] judge has done what the report said they should do," Mr. Sergi said.

Judge Nelms said the report was not a major factor in his decision.

"Anyone who's looking at death, I think we should give them every opportunity," the judge said. "At the time of the defendant's conviction, DNA testing was not something that was even considered."

Mr. Sergi said the judge's decision could clear the way for future requests for evidence analysis in similar cases. He said countless people convicted before the early 1990s could have grounds to request DNA tests.

"It's going to open up a can of worms," he said. "The impact of this is going to be huge."

Mark Daniel of Fort Worth, vice president of the Texas Criminal Defense Lawyers Association, said that judges will continue to order evidence reviews case-by-case and that not all convictions warrant DNA tests.

"Is DNA relevant? In the vast majority of cases, it's not," Mr. Daniel said. "This is not going to change our system of jurisprudence."

Prosecutors said at trial that Mr. Cantu grabbed Mrs. Jones near the front of her home, in the 1100 block of North Madison Avenue, dragged her to the back, sexually assaulted her and then beat her head against a sidewalk. Mr. Cantu confessed to Dallas police but later recanted.

Under Judge Nelms' order, Mr. Cantu's defense team will have to pay for the DNA tests. Mr. Sergi said they expect to have results within 10 days, so his client's execution date may not be affected.

 
 

DOMINGO CANTU'S SYNOPSIS

Domingo Cantu's Homepage - CCADP.org

On June, 25th, 1988, I was left in a different part of town in the  city of Dallas after being awake all night driving around and  getting intoxicated with a couple of friends. I was walking home and came to a small  store and stopped  to use  the Pay Telephone outside the store to call my Brother-in-law, so he could come to pick me up and give me a ride home.  It was early  in the morning. About 7:30 a.m.  After waking him up from bed, he asked me if I would like to go to work with him that day, and being that I could use the money to take out the  date I made for that night, I told him I'd like to. He told me to give him about 10 minutes so he could  shower and  get dressed,  and he would come to pick me up. I didn't want to wait around the store so I told him I was going to walk down the street to a  small Restaurant  that stayed open 24 hours, and once I  got there I would call him again to let him know I was there waiting for him to come pick me up. After we agreed  to this I hung up the telephone and started walking towards the restaurant. But, unfortunately,  I never reached my destination because  the Police pulled  out of an apartment driveway, where I was headed towards, and without warning one of the policemen jumped out of the  Police Car and pulled out his gun on me, and pointed it towards me demanding that I lay on the ground. I was terrified so  I help up my hands and asked what was  the problem. The  officer ignored  my question  and threatened me by saying  if I didn't get on my knees he would shoot me,  so being frightened  I got on my knees. He then ran up to me and kicked me  and forcing me to the ground, and arrested me. I asked "why" was I being arrested and I was told for Public Intoxication.

After arriving at the Police Station  I called my Brother-in-law and told him that I was arrested for Public Intoxication, and asked that he notify my mother so she could come get me out of jail. When I  ended the telephone call I was removed from the holding cell  and was  asked to put my T-shirt on so I could be photographed being that this never happened to me before when I was arrested for Public Intoxication, I asked "why" was  I being photographed, and was told nothing  in return. After the photographs  I was stripped  from my clothes and given jail-house clothes to wear. After this I was driven to another location across  town,  to a small  building. In this  building I was placed inside  a small  room with a table and chairs. A detective wanted to know where was I going before my arrest and  I told him. He then questioned me about a murder I knew nothing about. Once he realized I was  getting sleepy  and tired  he asked me if I wanted anything to drink or smoke, so I told him Coffee and Cigarettes would be  nice. He left the small room and  didn't return promptly,  so  I laid  my head down on my arms and fell asleep. When he finally returned he had the things he promised,  and asked me to sign two pieces  of paper,  so I could be released. Being that I was practically illiterate at the time, I asked what were the pieces  of paper  and he  told me  they were my statements to what we talked about,  so  I signed them without having him read them to me. I was then driven back to the police station and placed into isolation. I was so tired so I quickly fell  asleep. A couple  of hours  later I was taken  back  to   the  same   building and questioned  again by a different detective about more murders, and again I signed a piece of paper thinking it was what we had  talked about. After  I was taken back to the county jail,  I was  told that  I was being investigated for Capital Murder, a few hours later.

The crime I stand  accused of is Rape/Murder of an elderly woman. I did not commit this horrible crime I'm being held for. I had no reason  to commit  this crime and I pray that the "truth" will come out some day, so my innocence can be proven. Below are a list of FACTS to my case  that needs to be taken  into consideration  and investigated. The evidence itself is strong and compelling.

1.) At the  time of my incarceration  at the County Jail, I filed a complaint with the
State Bar Association about the representation I was being given to help me with my case. In the grievance I stated that there is No Evidence that links me to this crime I am charged with. Apart from this my court appointed attorney was trying to set me up by telling my mother that he would get me a Life Sentence, if I would cop-out to the crime. but  instead he was in the process  of trying to get me to cop-out to a Life Sentence, which is an admission to guilt,  so he  could set me up! I Never told him I would accept a Life Sentence, but my mother did, so he told the District Attorney and  they indicted me! I was "forced" to accept this inadequate representation who helped conspired with the prosecutor to condemn me for this crime. My reason for mentioning this is because 1.)  it will show that I was uneducated and practically illiterate, and 2.) It  is solid evidence to show that I  "always" proclaimed my innocence by stating that there was No Evidence to link me to  this crime.  This is  on  Record  and can be looked up to be verified.

2.) I suggested and "requested" to one of my trial attorney's that I wanted to be placed in a "Live Line-up" because I heard  there was a witness  to this crime, but my attorney refused to grant me my wish and  demand to  give the witness the  opportunity to try identifying me as  the "suspect" that he seen on the day this crime was committed. But, I was refused my right to a Live line-up.

3.) I requested to one of my court appointed attorney's  that I wanted to use DNA Testing to show the Court, and State that I was "Totally Innocent" of this crime. This was when DNA first started  to come out, and   I  heard   it  could  be used  to help prove my innocence. But, instead I was denied this request.

4.) My trial  attorney's refused to object to evidence being entered by the Prosecutor i.e. mainly one black cable said  to have the victims blood on it. This evidence was not challenged  for "fingerprints" to match with mine to show "strong" evidence that  I did not commit this crime.

5.) In the State's Brief there is "strong" evidence to show that documents are being "fabricated" to support the state's  evidence against me i.e. the "Blood Type" supposably found on my T-shirt;  In the Trial  Records it  says the blood-type of the victim's is "0-Negative"     In their appeal brief it  is identified as Type "A-Blood!" Also, I was arrested wearing brown shorts, and in their appeal brief they are saying  I had on cut off blue-jeans. This will show the Prosecutors are making up evidence as they go along.

6.) Witness testimony in "Open Court" described  the person he saw. The  individual was wearing Brown long legged pants, Blue shirt, Sandals, and a hair net. His  testimony did not match with  the  clothing I had on at the  time/day of my arrest. I was arrested wearing Brown cut-off shorts, white knee high tube socks, white  sneakers, and my gray T-shirt was in my back pocket. When the Trial Judge asked the Witness was he sure I was the person he seen, and asked the witness  to "Swear To God"  that I was the person who committed this crime the witness stated that he could not swear to god  I was  the same person. This evidence was "denied" serious objection from my trail attorneys.

7.) The  State's Witness  was unable to pick me out  of a  "Photo Array Line-up" with Convincing  Certainty  that  I was the actual person  he   seen  who  committed  this crime. Still his testimony was accepted by the court.

8.) The Prosecutor claimed there was "evidence" found on the Chain-Link Fence where the crime took place,  but NEVER stated  "what" type of evidence  e.g. Fingerprints, Blood, etc.. which could have been challenged by the trial attorney's to show that the evidence did not connect me to this crime,  if indeed  there was any "fingerprints" found on the fence!

9.) The prosecutor NEVER introduced a "Rape Kite," nor did they ever take any blood from me, or saliva to test along with the contents of the "Rape Kite."

10.) The Black Utility Cable introduced into evidence by the state, who claims it was used to "assault"  the victim, and supposably had the victim's blood on it was 'Inn challenged for "fingerprints" and this NEEDS to be tested as well   as challenged'.!!

ii.) There was a note given to me by my ex-wife the day before my arrest that stated she would not return to me because of my growing drug problem,  and  this note was never produced during trial, nor introduced into evidence,  so I  assume there has been some "evidence tampering" done by the Prosecutors.

12.) A few years after my arrival here on Death row, one of the "Assistant Prosecutors" was  "fired" from the Dallas District Attorney's Office. I was told it was because of "Evidence Tampering" as well  as "Witness  Tampering." I'm not too sure about this "but" it needs to be looked into.

13.) At the begging of my Trial one of my court appointed attorney's asked me for my ex-wife's  address, so he could contact her. Instead he gave this information to the Prosecutors who rushed over to  her  house and  tried to  "bribe" her  into testifying against  me, by  saying bad things about me to make me look bad during  trial. They promised to help her get "Alimony  (which doesn't  exist here  in Texas), Child Support. etc..." for her testimony. She didn't want to be "forced" into this so she went to go live with my mother, and took my daughter with her.

14.) My Brother-in-law (at the  time) was  subpoenaed to testify on my behalf, but was NEVER" called to testify.  He was  supposed to give testimony that I called him before my arrest,  and that he was supposed to come to pick me up a couple of blocks from where I was called him. and  I was  supposed to  go to work with him on the day of my arrest, because he offered when I called him. Which I originally called him to ask him to come to pick me up and give me a ride home. His testimony could have helped give a time frame for when my call was made, and from the time I was arrested.

15.) The day before my arrest, I had made  a date with a girl from my neighborhood named "Josie Reyes" (or Ramirez, it's been so long I forgot her last name), and was supposed to take her out on a date  that day  I was arrested. She was NEVER called to testify for my defense to show that I did not have any reason to rape and kill  the old lady who's murder I stand accused of committing.

16.) There is NO Tape recording of any "Confessions" to support the Detective's story that I confessed by giving him a statement. I do admit  to signing papers, but this was done during a time when  I was intoxicated and practically illiterate.  Plus, Cigarettes and Coffee were used as bargaining chips so I was taken advantage of!

17.) The Prosecutor claimed the victim's pubic hair was found on my zipper, which I know it wasn't. but when I took the stand during the Punishment  Phase of my trial I did not see any such existing evidence.  so this  evidence was "Fabricated" just like the blood testimony supposably found on my T-shirt.

18.) The way the Prosecutor's introduced  their evidence regarding the victim's blood being found on my T-shirt,  they used  a targe photo of me (about 5 inch by 20 inch), which was taken soon  after my arrest.  They kept it on a tripod about 5 feet away from the Jury Box, and kept pointing at it saying "took at  all that blood!" The only argument made by my Court Appointed Trial attorney is, he looked at the picture and told the jurors "I don't see any blood!"

19.) The Prosecutor's NEVER removed my clothes from the brown paper sack they were in to show the juror's the so-call blood found all over my clothes!

Well,  these are all factual evidence to my case. This very same evidence they claim to have against me, is what I want to use to prove my innocence. I know within my heart and soul that I am innocent of this  crime. But,  I need help in proving this because I can't do this alone. I will close with a "quote" by slain civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr. "OUR LIVES BEGIN TO END THE DAY WE BECOME SILENT ABOUT THE THINGS THAT MATTER."

Sincerely
"In Struggle!"
Domingo Cantu Jr.

P.S.  If anybody would like to contact  Domingo Cantu,  you can write to the following address below for correspondences or to send your words of support and encouragement to give me inspiration to continue with my struggle. I will respond to all incoming letters and cards.

Thank You for your time in reading my synopsis.

Mr. Domingo Cantu #000924
Terrell Unit 12-F-D-49
12002  F.M.  350 South

 
 


 


Domingo Cantu Jr.

 

 

 
 
 
 
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