In an electrifying turn of events, two Illinois cousins, suffering under the weight of a prolific, wrongful conviction case, were set free this week after having spent a harrowing 42 long years behind bars. The case now holds the dubious distinction of being the longest wrongful conviction sentence in the state's history. In a breathtaking string of victories against judicial errors, they were not the only ones granted the sweet taste of freedom this week.
Miguel Solorio, after bearing the punishing injustice of being incarcerated for 25 years for a crime he didn't commit, has finally set foot into the bosom of his family. Accused and arrested for a grisly drive-by shooting in 1998, Solorio's name was, unfortunately, flagged by a witness which led law enforcement to put him into the crosshairs of their investigation, sidestepping objective evaluation of evidence. The Northern California Innocence Project swooped in to review the case; persuading L.A. District Attorney George Gascon that Solorio was erroneously identified in a police photo line-up.
On Wednesday, another soul breathed the air of freedom; Giovanni Hernandez, who was shackled for murder in 2006 at the tender age of 14, was found to be innocent. Careful analysis of his mobile records by the FBI revealed that his phone was nowhere near the crime scene.
Hitting the football fields of Illinois, we find Brian Beals, a college player wrongfully convicted back in 1988 for a gruesome act against a child. Beals was finally able to stroll the free streets after enduring an unjust term of 35 years. The same breath of relief was experienced by Marvin Haynes. Sentenced as a minor, Haynes regained his freedom at the age of 37.
These shocking revelations surfaced not because of law enforcement, but through the relentless work carried out by public defenders, volunteers, and community organizations like the Innocence Project. This underscores the need for outside groups to assess the work of law enforcement in order to prevent innocent people from serving time for crimes they didn't commit.
