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Wrongly Convicted Database Record
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Charge: |
"Murder, Rape & Sodomy" |
Sentence: |
Death |
Years Imprisoned: |
26 |
Year Crime: |
1991 |
Year Convicted: |
1993 |
Year Cleared: |
2018 |
U.S. State or Country of Crime: |
California |
County or Region of Crime: |
Kern |
City of Crime: |
Delano |
Result: |
Judicially Exonerated Released |
Summary of Case: |
"Vicente Figueroa Benavides was wrongly convicted in 1993 of murder, rape and sodomy in the death of his girlfriend’s 21-month-old daughter, Consuelo Verdugo, in Kern County, California on November 25, 1991. Vicente Benavides lived with Consuelo's mother and was baby-sitting her the day she became injured. Consuelo's mother, Estella Medina, and Benavides took Consuelo to a hospital emergency room at Delano Regional Medical Center on the evening of Nov. 17, 1991. They said Consuelo had been running after her older sister and hit her head on a door. Consuelo's condition worsened and she was transferred to Kern Medical Center. Surgery revealed her bowel, duodenum and pancreas were "cracked in half." Consuelo died eight days later. Benavides was prosecuted based on expert medical testimony the child was raped and suffered extensive injuries. After his conviction by a jury, Benavides -- a Mexican citizen who was an illegal alien in the U.S. -- was sentenced to death. Two decasdes after his conviction and sentence, revaluation of the medical evidence determined Consuelo wasn't sexually assaulted, and the doctor's who testified at her trial recanted their testimony, saying they weren't provided with all the medical evidence prior to testifying. Benavides filed a writ of habeas corpus based on the new medical evidence Consuelo hadn't been sexually assaulted. On March 12, 2018 the California Supreme Court granted Benavides' writ and ordered a new trial. On April 17, 2018 Kern County District Attorney Lisa Green announced that Benavides would not be retried. She said that the most Benavides could be retried for would be second-degree murder, and he had already served more time in prison that he would serve if convicted. DA Green refused to concede that Benavides was not guilty. The DA's Office filed a motion to dismiss the charges against Benavides which was granted, and he was released from custody on April 19, 2018. Benavides had served almost 26 years on death row." |
Conviction Caused By: |
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Innocence Proved By: |
"Benavides filed a writ of habeas corpus based on the new medical evidence Consuelo hadn't been sexually assaulted. In 2016 the California Supreme Court granted Benavides' writ and ordered a new trial. After his conviction by a jury Vicente Benavides was sentenced to death. Benavides was released from custody on April 19, 2018." |
Defendant Aided By: |
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Compensation Awarded: |
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Was Perpetrator Identified? |
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Age When Imprisoned: |
42 |
Age When Released: |
68 |
Sex: |
Male |
Skin/Ethnicity: |
Hispanic |
Information Source 1: |
"Delano man whose murder conviction in death of 21-month-old girl was overturned last month will not be retried, By Jason Kotowski, Bakersfield.com, April 17, 2018" |
Information Location 1: |
https://www.bakersfield.com/news/delano-man-whose-murder-conviction-in-death-of--month/article_ef12b1c0-4278-11e8-9734-d3847291b23f.html |
Information Source 2: |
"Vicente Benavides, Sentenced to Death by False Forensics, to Be Freed After 26 Years on Death Row, Death Penalty Information Center, April 19, 2018" |
Information Location 2: |
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/node/7078 |
Information Source 3: |
"In re Vicente Benavides Figueroa, No. S111336 (CA Supreme Court, 3-12-2018) (Granting writ of habeas corpus based on new medical evidence.)" |
Information Location 3: |
https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/files/pdf/S111336.PDF |
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Innocents Database Created and Maintained by Hans Sherrer innocents@forejustice.org