In September 1998 my brother, Louis Castro Perez was falsely accused, and subsequently, wrongfully convicted of murdering 3 of his best friends in South Austin. It has been our contention for the last 9 years that we have spent fighting to save Louis' life that someone else murdered the 2 women and a little girl - Michelle, Cynda, and Stacy. Louis is an innocent man on death row - he absolutley did not murder his friends and his maintained his innocence for 9 years.

Louis had spent the 1998 Labor Day Holiday weekend with his girlfriend, Michelle; they had gone out to dinner the night before these murders occurred. He left the following morning, spent the whole day away from the home, then returned back to the home that evening. When Louis walked into the home he saw Cynda lying on the floor, bludgeoned and lying in a pool of blood. Louis most likely interrupted the person who was inside the home, while the girls were being murdered - he never saw the murderer but he did see Cynda and ran to her asking her "what happened". In her last dying moments, she did not realize it was Louis, her friend, and lashed out at him, scratching him. Louis' friend, Cynda, tragically died in his arms.

There were many errors committed as this investigation ensued - it was his palm print on the floor next to her body, as he leaned over her to help her, and the DNA under her nails that caused the police and DA to stop the investigation at that point, and point to Louis as their suspect. They focused the investigation solely on Louis from that point on - they found his print and just stopped the investigation - failing to discover the true perpetrator. They failed to do an adequate job of testing all the DNA and fingerprints found at the crime scene which would have revealed the true identify of the real murderer in this case.

The APD found Louis' palm print right next to Cynda's body, just as he testified to in court. They found Louis' palm print in the blood - it was not a 'bloody palm print' as the media reported - it was Louis' print in the blood as he knelt down next to his friend asking her 'what had happened'. In addition, forensic specialists testifed that Louis' print arrived at the scene 2-5 (two to five minutes) after the blood was shed. It was a full 2-5 minutes later, when Louis unknowingly walked into the crime scene, and totally innocent of this crime! Police also testified that all the doors and windows were locked when they arrived - and that the deadbolt was also locked - that means that the murderer was still in the house when Louis arrived and when Louis left the home - the murderer deadbolted the door behind him.

Louis left the scene because 'he was scared' - he was in shock, he had never seen anything like that, and he wanted no part of it. He took the stand during his trial in September 1999 but it was too late - the media and the jury had already made up their minds because the prosecution had already convinced that jury that Louis was the perpetrator.

The truth is that the Austin Police Department, the Travis County Medical Examiner's Office, the Texas Department of Public Safety DNA Lab, District Attorney's Offices, Travis County Sheriff, and the Court of Criminal Appeals all came to the wrong conclusion - they had the wrong man then, and to this day, they have the wrong man. They were overzealous in their prosecution, they stopped looking after they found Louis' print, and they instructed the lab personnel "to only look for Louis' presence" in the DNA - as testified to in court. There is a long history of cover-ups, police misconduct, misleading juries, collusion and racketeering, and it must be stopped now. The Federal Justice Department announced just this week that they will be stepping in and conducting an investigation of the Austin Police Department. That is the tip of the iceberg - and they will find that many people like us have been the victims of our judicial system - they are the criminals, not us, and we are grateful that finally somebody is coming in to see for themselves, how the manipulation and lies of the very people we trust, are at the crux of the problems in incarcerating and executing the wrong people. 33 people have died at the hands of the police department in Austin, TX in recent years - that alone is a travesty.

In our case alone, there were more than 50 foreign fingerprints, and much foreign DNA that was never tested - and it is that Foreign DNA and those 50 Foreign Fingerprints that we insist be re-tested to identify the true perpetrator. Louis Castro Perez never stood a chance against this system that is fraught with error. As you know 115 innocent men have been released from death rows because of DNA errors just like in our case. Other recent cases are the Yogurt Shop Murders, where 4 people have now been released or received new trials, the Rodney Reed case where we're still waiting to hear the outcome of the last hearing. So many people have been executed recently, as they scurry to empty out death row. As I visit death row each week, I hear story after story, after story - all with the same plot - prosecutorial misconduct, tampering with evidence, tainted jury, sleeping lawyers and judges, to name a few issues. We all seem to have the same common thread; we are poor and do not have the money for a good lawyer, and we are people of color. I never dreamed that I would call the 'race card' but after nearly 10 years of educating myself, there is no other conclusion.

We were assigned a private investigator but he got sick, and never worked on this case, other than to go visit Louis in jail. That is where Louis told the P.I. that he had walked into the crime scene and saw Cynda on the floor already nearly dead. What Louis experienced that terrible day was fight or flight - and unfortunately left the home without calling for help. We understand, and Louis' understands that it was not right to leave the scene, and we understand how this case went awry. Louis and this family are very sorry that he left the scene without calling for help - that will haunt us for the rest of our lives and has cost Louis 9 years of his life - but leaving the scene of the crime does not call for the death penalty. Louis never even knew that his girlfriend, Michelle, and that little girl, Stacey, had also been tragically killed in the back of the home; he only saw Cynda lying on the floor when he entered the home that day.

We have always felt that someone like the railroad serial killer, Angel Maturino Resendiz, killed the girls because of the exact MO that was used in these horrific murders. Angel Maturino Resendiz (aka Raphael Ramirez) also confessed to murdering 2 women in Austin - "1 fat one and 1 skinny one" were his exact words as he spoke to a private investigator hired by Louis' attorney Alex Calhoun. The private investigator from Houston, Lisa Milstein told my father, Ernest R. Perez, and my brother, Louis, at the Polunsky Unit, that Angel Maturino had in fact confessed to those murders. We have asked her on numerous occasions to write up an affadavit and submit it to Judge Jon Wisser, (now Charlie Baird), but to no avail. Louis' lawyer, Alexander Calhoun, has been less than forthcoming over the years and should have done more to further investigate the discrepancies in this case. These girls were brutally murdered, stabbed, strangled, beaten, tortured, bashed in the base of the brain until it was split in two - murders so horrific and unimaginable - murders that could only have been committed by a very, very sick psychopathic, schizophrenic person like Angel Maturino Resendiz was.

My brother is a wonderful, loving, caring, gentle man who has never hurt anyone in his life. He has suffered immensely and immeasurable for 9 years being imprisoned and dehumanized, for a crime he most certainly did not commit. It is way past time to take action and get to the bottom of this case. Louis has written several letters proclaiming his innocence and is hopeful, prayerful, and respectful. My brother deserves a fair and honest investigation into these murders and thanks you from the bottom of his heart for caring. This could have easily happened to you or your loved ones and you would insist on the same complete investigation.

You will find that the hurt, anger, resentment, and vengeance came from the police, the sheriff, the DA's office, and the Travis County Juvenile Probation Office (where the girls worked). He was then quickly railroaded through our Court of Criminal Appeals where they upheld the State's position to execute him. We know they were mad; we were angry too, that our friends had been murdered, and that this town would never be the same again, but they turned their rage onto the wrong person. Louis has 4 children, his oldest, Joshua, serves in the U.S. Army and has completed two tours of duty in Iraq. We are a strong, deeply rooted and upstanding family in this community with family members that have contributed significantly to our community. There is no way we will stand by and watch while our innocent brother is executed for something he did not do.

The Travis County District Attorney's office under the direction of Ronnie Earle, Claire Dawson Brown, and Buddy Meyer were also responsible for this horrible mistake in judgment regarding Louis' case. They have not communicated well with us, and we feel that they have grossly mishandled our case by misleading the jury, hiding evidence, and agregious error in pursuing the wrong person. I have repeatedly gone to them for assistance with very little response.

You must know that Louis Castro Perez' fingerprints and DNA were not on any of the murder weapons involved in this case - and there were many forms of murder weapons used. Louis' DNA and fingerprints were not on those murder weapons because Louis did not murder his friends; he loved those girls, and still keeps their pictures in his Bible today. We have always loved and prayed for everyone concerned in this case but in particular, ALL THE MEN AND WOMEN ON DEATH ROWS ACROSS THE WORLD.

I have testified at all Criminal Jurisprudence, Criminal Justice, and State Affairs Committees during the past 3 legislative sessions and I am honored to be here today, at the 2007 Fast and Vigil - Starvin' For Justice!!! I want to tell you that all the men on death row in Texas sincerely thank you for the work you do on their behalf. Today, my family comes here to THANK YOU from the bottom of our hearts, for all the love and support we have received, and will continue to receive as we all fight against this Murder Machine we call justice. We ask that everyone contact your Governor, Senators and Legislators to educate them about the atrocities in our system and get them actively involved in abolishing the death penalty now!

Please feel free to contact myself, or my family if you have any questions or need any additional documents. We look forward to meeting with you and/or speaking with you regarding Louis. Thank you very much.

Sincerely Yours,
Ernest R. Perez, Gloria (deceased), David, Delia, Irene, Louis, and
Ernest, Jr. and our extended families
1809 Margaret Street
Austin, TX 78704
512-444-5366
dmeyer@io.com