Good news today out of El Paso, TX;
a man who’s been in prison for 18 years is currently free on bond, after it was
ruled that he did not receive adequate counsel during his trial.
Daniel Villegas was convicted of performing a drive-by
shooting back in 1993; the then 16 year old confessed, and the confession was
used to convict him. Apparently, though, his confession did not match the
crime. Details that the shooter would have known, such as the color of the car
he rode in, were incorrect. Villegas later recanted, saying the confession was
coerced.
He is currently awaiting a new
trial date. Much like the case of Ernie Lopez, prosecutors show no sign of
dropping the charges.
This case is significant to me.
Much like the case of Carlos Coy, there does not appear to have been any
physical evidence linking Villegas to the shooting. Only testimony. In 2009, two
other victims of the shooting who survived signed affidavits that Villegas’
confession did not match what had happened that night.
Ben Hodge,
the foreman of the jury that convicted Villegas, has also stated in court
documents that he would not have convicted Villegas had he heard some of the
evidence presented during a series of 2011 court hearings that took place
before Medrano.
An investigation funded by
Mimbela found several inconsistencies between the confession allegedly given by
Villegas and accounts by witnesses, including the description of the car
involved in the shooting. The car and the firearm used in the shooting were never
found.
Although Villegas’ future remains
in doubt, it’s a good start to 2014.
2 comments:
I'm from El Paso and upon reading about Villegas case, the first thing that came to mind was Carlos Coy. Villegas was an innocent man and was wrongly convicted. Though his fight is not over, it does give a ray of chance to have him freed.
Wow unbelievable not sure but to me these prosecuters n pigs sure screwed a lot of innocent people over back then....but hopefully this the year...2014 the year all wrongfully accussed n imprisoned by these haters r freed n for all these justice obstructions, civil rights violations, and defamations of character ...will finally go down for these wrong doings !!!!
Post a Comment