Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón announced today the exonerations and release of Giovanni Hernandez and Miguel Solorio, each who collectively spent decades in prison for murders they did not commit as teenagers.
“It’s truly devastating when people are wrongfully convicted, especially when they were so young at the time of their arrest. In the case of Mr. Solorio, he was 19 years old. Mr. Hernandez was just 14 years old.” District Attorney Gascón said. “These cases not only highlight the tragic impact on the lives of those directly affected but also underline the impact to the family and friends left behind. I am committed to ensuring that lessons are learned from this grave error, and that steps are taken to prevent similar injustices from occurring in the future."
Sarah Pace, an attorney for Northern California Innocence Project on Solorio’s case, said, “Miguel's 25 years of wrongful incarceration shows how important it is for law enforcement to follow all leads and avoid tunnel vision, to present witnesses with a particular suspect only one time, and to recognize that, according to the new scientific consensus, when witnesses don't identify the suspect, it points to their innocence.”
Marisa Harris, an attorney for the Juvenile Innocence and Fair Sentencing Clinic at Loyola Law School in Hernandez’s case, said, “Gio was only 14 years old when he was sentenced to die in prison for a crime he did not commit. Like so many young people serving long, adult sentences in California’s prisons, Gio was given no hope for a future outside of prison walls. However, despite this grave injustice, Gio found his way to the light.”
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