A California prisoner has been found innocent and released 33 years after being convicted of attempted murder. Daniel Saldana – now 55 years old – has been wrongfully sent behind bars, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón told the press on Thursday. The justice system failed in his case.
Saldana was sentenced in 1990 to 45 years to life. Two other people were in court with the 22-year-old at the time. They allegedly shot six high school students in a Los Angeles vehicle who were mistaken for gang members. Two of the victims were injured, none died. Saldana has always maintained his innocence.
Co-convict has acquitted Saldana
At a 2017 hearing, one of the co-convicts claimed that he was responsible for the shooting and that Saldana was not even at the scene. However, this exculpatory statement was not passed on at the time, but was only sent to the authorities in February of this year, according to the public prosecutor.
“It Was a Fight”
He was grateful to be alive, Saldana told reporters on Thursday, surrounded by his family. “It was a struggle waking up every day knowing you were innocently locked in a cell.” He had no resources and no money to take action, Saldana said. But he always believed that “the day” would come.
Source: Krone
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