According to Los Angeles County prosecutors, a man who was imprisoned for over 18 years on charges of rape, kidnapping, and robbery has been found innocent and released.Read full article
The county district attorney's office said in a statement that DNA testing assisted in Gerardo Cabanillas' exoneration in the 1995 attack on a couple who were sitting in a parked car in the city of South Gate. Cabanillas was arrested when he was 18 years old.
The Conviction Integrity Unit of the DA's office reexamined Cabanillas' case, and this week a court overturned his conviction, determined him to be factually innocent, and ordered his permanent freedom.
"We acknowledge a grave injustice that has resulted in the unjust more than 28-year incarceration of Mr. Cabanillas," District Attorney George Gascón said in a statement.
"Upon thorough reexamination of the evidence and a comprehensive review of the case by my office's Conviction Integrity Unit, it has become abundantly clear that a serious error was made. I extend my deepest apologies to Mr. Cabanillas for the miscarriage of justice and the failure of our criminal legal system. ... It is imperative that we reflect upon this case as a stark reminder that our criminal legal system is not infallible
In 1996, Cabanillas was found guilty and sentenced to 28 years in jail. He admitted to being one of the two armed guys that approached the pair, drove the man away, and then raped the woman inside an abandoned house.
Two days later, an additional couple in a car in the same vicinity was robbed, according to the authorities.
The attacks' victims were informed of Cabanillas' confession and recognised him from photo lineups. According to the California Innocence Project at the California Western School of Law, who represented Cabanillas, they later expressed misgivings in court and said they were under duress to identify him.
The group said in a statement that DNA testing on the rape kit revealed two other people were responsible for the crime.
The Innocence Project said that although one individual eventually admitted to committing one of the crimes, no other suspects were ever detained.
When Gerardo Cabanillas, then age 18, was detained on accusations of sexual assault, his attorney claimed that he swore on his child's life that he was innocent. A South Gate police detective allegedly promised him probation as long as he acknowledged to the crime, but he confessed nevertheless.
False confessions are one of the leading causes of wrongful convictions in the United States," interim director Alissa Bjerkhoel said in a statement. "Police are permitted to lie to suspects, including promises of leniency if the person confesses. That is exactly what happened here and, if it was not for the DNA evidence, Gerardo would have spent the rest of his life in prison."
"We are thrilled for Gerardo and his family that the truth has finally set him free," she said.
According to the Innocence Project, Cabanilla confessed after a detective assured him he would only receive a probationary term and be allowed to return home if he confesses to the crime, according to CBS News Los Angeles.
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