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Indonesia | 14 years on death row: Timeline of Mary Jane Veloso’s ordeal and fight for justice

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MANILA, Philippines — The case of Mary Jane Veloso, a Filipina on death row in Indonesia for drug trafficking, has spanned over a decade and remains one of the most high-profile legal battles involving an overseas Filipino worker. Veloso was arrested on April 25, 2010, at Adisucipto International Airport in Yogyakarta, Indonesia, after she was found in possession of more than 2.6 kilograms of heroin. She was sentenced to death in October – just six months after her arrest. Indonesia’s Supreme Court upheld the penalty in May 2011.

Texas | Court rejects appeal for Dallas man facing death penalty for double murder

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The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected an appeal for a Dallas man who faces execution for a 2001 double murder.

Ivan Cantu was pulled off death row earlier this year but will now go back on the execution schedule. 

Cantu failed to convince the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to grant him a new hearing.

One week before his scheduled execution in April, a judge blocked the execution after Cantu's lawyers argued some of the key witnesses had lied.

But the Court of Criminal Appeals today said there was no merit to the argument.

Cantu was convicted of killing his cousin and his cousin's fiance in 2001 in far North Dallas. 

The murders technically happened in Collin County so the case now goes back to a Collin County trial judge who will set a new execution date, probably early next year.

The case was steeped in testimony over drug dealing with Cantu claiming he was being framed.

Source: Audacy, Staff, August 22, 2023


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