According to the AP news agency on September 28, the Los Angeles County Prosecutor's Office announced that DNA testing has helped exonerate Gerardo Cabanillas of the charges of attacking two couples in South Gate City, California in 1995.
Previously, this office decided to reinvestigate Mr. Cabanillas' case. According to CNN, Mr. Cabanillas was released from prison on parole last May. On September 21, a Los Angeles County Superior Court judge overturned the previous sentence, declared Mr. Cabanillas innocent and released him.
Gerardo Cabanillas waves outside the Los Angeles Courthouse after being released on September 26. Photo: Innocence Center/California Innocence Project
"I extend my deepest apologies to Mr. Cabanillas for the failure of our criminal justice system," County Prosecutor George Gascon said at a press conference on September 26.
In early 1995, two armed men attacked a couple as they parked their car in South Gate. Two days later, another couple was attacked in the same area.
Mr. Cabanillas, then 18, was arrested by police because of his close resemblance to the victim’s description. After being promised probation and the possibility of going home, he pleaded guilty. But instead of “going home,” he was convicted of 14 counts, including robbery, kidnapping, and rape. He was convicted in 1996.
Mr. Cabanillas shakes hands with District Attorney George Gascón after a press conference on September 26. Photo: Los Angeles County District Attorney's Office
According to the Innocence Center and the California Innocence Project, victims in both attacks have expressed doubts in court and said they were pressured to confirm Mr. Cabanillas' identity.
No other suspects have been arrested, although one man has admitted to carrying out one of the attacks.
"False confessions are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in the United States. This is one such case. Without the DNA evidence, Gerardo would have spent the rest of his life in prison," said Alissa Bjerkhoel, interim director of the California Innocence Project.
Freed after nearly 30 years in California
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