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Alexander Torres spent more than 20 years in prison for murders he did not commit. He landed there despite the testimony of the unstable witness, despite the fact that he was wearing the cast of the time.
On Tuesday morning, Torres was awarded $14 million as the LA County Board of Supervisors resolved his federal civil lawsuit.
The supervisor voted 5-0 to grant compensation for the age of 45 after the judge found himself virtually innocent in April 2022.
The settlement also comes after Torres and the California Innocence Project, former LA County Dist. Atty. George Gasconne and his office’s Conviction Consistency Unit called for a new judicial review in 2021.
Amy Kimpel is associate professor and executive director of the California Western Innocence Justice Clinic, formerly known as the California Innocence Project. She emailed her time and said she was happy to hear about the settlement.
“Torres was locked up for everything in his 20s and 30s. Most of us are dedicated to careers and building a family,” she said. “Money cannot return that time to Mr. Torres, but it can ease the struggles related to re-entry into society and reduce the harm caused to Mr. Torres by 20 years of illegal incarceration.”
She added that his victory reaffirmed the clinic staff’s commitment to combat injustice.
Torres received an official apology from Gascon at a press conference on June 1, 2022. The former district attorney said, “It’s important that we take responsibility and keep the system accountable.
Torres was arrested on January 18th, 2001, in the shooting death of Martin “Casper” Guitron on December 31st.
Two witnesses identified Torres in the murder, but each in their own way was unstable.
The first witness said Torres and Guitron didn’t know each other (in fact, they had a long history) and only identified Torres after a few questions from the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s murder investigator.
The second witness later admitted that he chose Torres from the lineup of photographs because he closely resembles the actual shooter.
Investigators argued in a summary corrective action plan shared by the supervisor that Torres did not provide a “consistent alibi.” However, Torres claimed to be celebrating the New Year at his mother’s house in Paramount.
Several families assured Torres was taking part in the celebration. This was also my mother’s birthday party.
At that event, Torres also wore a cast that shouldn’t have pulled the trigger.
Torres was found guilty of second-degree murder on June 12, 2001, and was sentenced to 40 years in a state prison.
The ruling was invalidated by a judge in October 2021. Torres and Gascon later filed a joint complaint that month for a finding of innocence of the facts granted in April 2022.
The discovery cleared Torres’ records.
Torres filed a lawsuit against LA County on October 13, 2022, alleging that the Sheriff’s Department and its detectives failed to disclose any clear evidence.
The murder detective was condemned in a summary corrective action plan on various “critical issues.”
The detective’s questions about the photo lineup were deemed too suggestive, but the two witnesses were not separated and had potential influence.
The murder detective said he submitted memos about the case to the prosecutor and defense attorney, but neither the district attorney’s file nor the sheriff’s department file contained evidence that the files were shared.
The two detectives were allegedly ignored new information pointing to another suspect after Torres was convicted.
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