A man falsely accused and served 33 years in prison in California has been acquitted and released after a belated re-investigation. According to the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office on the 27th, Daniel Saldana (55), who was convicted of attempted murder in 1990 and imprisoned for 33 years in state prison, was recently acquitted.
Saldana was indicted along with two other suspects for shooting six high school students in October 1989 when they were mistaken for gang members while driving. Two victims were injured by gunshot wounds. Saldana was sentenced to life imprisonment by the court and imprisoned.
Later, in August 2017, when he was serving more than 20 years in prison, one of the co-defendants in the case testified at the parole hearing that “Saldana did not participate in the shooting and was not at the scene at the time.”
However, this information was not conveyed to Saldana’s lawyers, etc., and the judicial authorities did not take any action. Then, the case took a new turn when the California Parole Board, composed of new members, submitted a statement six years ago to the District Attorney’s Office only in February of this year.
The District Attorney’s Office, together with the police, launched a re-investigation, and because of the investigation, it was determined that Saldana was not guilty. Saldana said at a press conference on the 25th, “I am 100% innocent, and I have been saying that from the beginning.
” He was also thrilled that he “did not lose hope” and “knew that a day like this would come someday” even though he had been imprisoned for a long time.
“I want to apologize once again to Mr. Saldana and his family for this failure,” Gascon District Attorney said. We hope that our apology will bring some comfort to Saldana.”