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Wrongly
Convicted Database
Record
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Years
Imprisoned:
|
5 |
Charge: |
Murder |
Sentence: |
55 yrs |
Year Convicted: |
1999 |
Year
Cleared:
|
2002 |
Location
of Trial:
|
Illinois |
Result:
|
Pardoned |
Summary
of Case:
|
"One of four co-defendants wrongly convicted of the 1997 murder of Sindulfo Miranda, based on the fabricated confessions of two of the defendants, one of which was Omar Aguirre's alleged confession. Aguirre, who only speaks Spanish, supposedly made a confession that was written in English, and the signature on the confession wasn't his. A jury relied on the supposed confession to convict Aguirre, who was then sentenced to 55 years in prison. The convictions of all four men were reversed in December 2002. Three of the four men filed a federal civil righs lawsuit against the city of Chicago, and Omar Aguirre was awarded $3,000,000 in damages in February 2006. Aguirre was pardoned on the basis of his innocence by Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich in July 2008, which makes him eligible for compensation from the State of Illinois." |
Conviction
Caused By:
|
"Police misconduct. Police fabricated alleged confession by Aguirre that was written in English, while Aguirre only speaks Spanish, and the signature on the confession wasn't his." |
Innocence
Proved By:
|
Actual murderers discovered
|
Defendant
Aided By:
|
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Compensation Awarded: |
"$3,000,000 (Feb 2006)" |
Was Perpetrator Found? |
Yes |
Age
When Imprisoned:
|
30 |
Age
When Released:
|
33 |
Information Source 1: |
"Bogus Confession: Feds: 2 prisoners will be freed after charges against drug ring," Joe Biesk, (AP), December 18, 2002" |
Information
Location 1:
|
http://www.truthinjustice.org/Bogus_Confession.htm |
Information
Source 2:
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"Blagojevich pardons 19, By Azam Ahmed and David Heinzmann (staff writers), Chicago Tribune, July 3, 2008" |
Information
Location 2:
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"http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-blagojevich-pardonsjul04,0,5174310.story" |
Information
Source 3:
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Information
Location 3:
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Source 4:
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Information
Location 4:
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Information
Source 5:
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Information
Location 5:
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Ethnicity/Skin:
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Hispanic |
Book
About
Case:
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Book
Information:
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Book About Case (2): |
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Book Information (2): |
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Movie About Case: |
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Comments About Case: |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org