Man Declared Innocent after 28 Years Behind Bars

 A Californian male identified as Gerardo Cabanillas has been acquitted and released from prison after 28 Years when new investigation cleared him of kidnapping and rape charges. In 1995, Gerardo was convicted based on what the California Innocence Project called in a post "bad eyewitness identifications, a false confession and police misconduct." When he was just 18 years old, Gerardo Cabanillas was charged with fourteen felony counts, including robbery, kidnapping, carjacking, and rape. He was brought to an interrogation room where he repeatedly denied the accusations. Finally, however, after a seasoned detective told the then 18 year old that he would be able to go home and only receive probation if he confessed to the crimes, Cabanillas relented and claimed to have committed the crimes. 

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More than two decades passed before DNA evidence was able to definitively prove Cabanillas' innocence. Evidence from the kit was tested and it was discovered that the sperm left on the rape victim matched two different men, neither of whom were Cabanillas. Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón apologized for the miscarriage of justice in a press conference, saying in part, "Today, we acknowledge a grave injustice that has resulted in the unjust more than 28-year incarceration of Mr. Cabanillas. 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."