Man found innocent after 28 years of wrongful imprisonment for rape, kidnapping
Gerardo Cabanillas, a 46-year-old man, has been found innocent of the rape, robbery, and kidnapping convictions that led to his unjust imprisonment for 28 years. The recent DNA test results proved his innocence in those crimes.
Cabanillas was only 18 years old when he was convicted for a robbery, kidnapping, and sexual assault case in Los Angeles, United States, in 1995.
After spending nearly three decades behind bars, the new DNA testing unequivocally confirmed that Cabanillas did not commit the crimes, as reported by CNN.
During a news conference on Tuesday, Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón expressed a deep sense of responsibility as a district attorney to address the tragic miscarriage of justice and celebrate the release of an innocent man from prison.
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The incident took place in January 1995 when a man and a woman were victims of an armed robbery and sexual assault. Days after the crime, Cabanillas, who matched the description of one of the suspects at the time as an 18-year-old, was arrested, stated Gascón.
“Mister Cabanillas consistently maintained that he was coerced into giving a false confession on the date of his arrest, with the promise of probation and subsequent release,” revealed Gascón.
Despite the absence of any physical evidence linking Cabanillas to the crime, he was charged with 14 felony counts, according to Gascón.
Throughout the trial, Cabanillas adamantly professed his innocence, yet he was ultimately sentenced to life in prison.
In 2019, Cabanillas’ lawyers from the California Innocence Project, a non-profit organization dedicated to freeing wrongly convicted individuals, filed a motion to have the DNA evidence related to the 1995 sexual assault victim tested. None of the DNA matched Cabanillas, Gascón confirmed.
“After a thorough review of all the evidence, including expert analysis of the alleged confession and an interview with the sexual assault victim, we have lost confidence in the conviction of this case,” stated Gascón.
Cabanillas was conditionally released from prison in May, as per the district attorney’s office. However, it was on September 21 when a judge from the Los Angeles County Superior Court vacated his conviction and declared him factually innocent, granting him permanent freedom.
Speaking at the Tuesday news conference, Alissa Bjerkhoel, the interim director of the California Innocence Project, expressed that the exoneration was bittersweet. She acknowledged the profound impact of the wrongful conviction on Cabanillas’ life, stating, “The colossal damage done because of this wrongful conviction cannot be measured. Gerardo has missed out on a lifetime in the free world.”
During the investigation, the district attorney’s office utilized the new DNA testing to identify a new suspect who is currently in custody for an unrelated killing, shared Gascón. This individual matches the suspect description and has been linked to multiple serious felonies, including rape and murder, in the same area.
Gascón concluded by offering his deepest apologies to Cabanillas and his family for the profound injustice they endured. At the news conference, Cabanillas was present with his family but chose not to speak.