Juan Manuel Contreras San Martín

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Charge:	Aggravated Homicide
Sentence:	10 years
Years Imprisoned:	5
Year Crime:	1989
Year Convicted:	1994
Year Cleared:	1995
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Chile
County or Region of Crime:	Talca
City of Crime:	Talca
Result:	Judicially Exonerated Released
Summary of Case:	"José Alfredo Soto Ruz, Víctor Eduardo Osses Conejeros, and Juan Manuel Contreras San Martín were wrongly convicted on March 28, 1994 in Talca, Chile of the murder of María Soledad Opazo Sepúlveda on June 25, 1989. The men's convictions were based on each of them falsely confessing under intense physical mistreatment and psychological pressure, and without legal representation. The men were arrested on January 19, 1990 and held in custody for more than four years until their trial. On January 19, 1995 the Court of Appeals of Talca vacated the three defendant's conviction and acquitted them based on their unreliable confessions, and ordered their immediate release. The men were wrongly imprisoned for five years. The three men filed a petition for compensation with the Supreme Court of Chile on June 18, 1995. Although unopposed by the government, the Supreme Court rejected the petition on June 27, 1996, on the basis compensation is only admissible when the innocence of the convicted persons is proven, not when no conviction is handed down for lack of evidence. The men continued to pursue compensation with the Chilean government, and in a settlement on January 31, 2000 they were awarded discretionary lifetime annuities which were the maximum pensions allowed by law. The settlement also had two additional provisions: First, they were to be provided free of charge adequate training in skills and trades in accordance with their expectations, aptitudes and possibilities; and, Second, the Regional Government would disseminate a public apology for the miscarriage of justice designed to restore their reputation and honor. The public act of reparation held on November 22, 2001, was presided over by Mr. Mario Merchak Aspe, Governor of the VII Region of Maule. The communiqué issued on that date mentioned that the Governor personally offered public apologies to Juan Manuel Contreras San Martín, Víctor Eduardo Osses Conejeros, and José Alfredo Soto Ruz as follows: "The conduct of each of you is beyond reproach, but, regrettably you were the victims of mishandling and errors that led to you to be unjustly detained and kept in prison for more than five years for a crime that you did not commit, and to be convicted in first instance as the perpetrators of the killing of Mrs. María Soledad Opazo, murdered in June 1989." And, "We want you from this day forth to begin a new life, to look ahead with optimism and get over the problems of the past, in order to tackle the struggles that will arise in the future." (Source: Report No. 32/02, Friendly Settlement, Case 11.715, Juan Manuel Contreras San Martin, Victor Eduardo Osses Conejeros and Jose Alfredo Soto Ruz, Chile, March 12, 2002, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights.)"
Conviction Caused By:	False confession extracted by the police under duress and without access to a lawyer.
Innocence Proved By:	"Chile's Supreme Court vacated the three defendant's convictions and acquitted them on January 19, 1995."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Report No. 32/02, Friendly Settlement, Case 11.715, Juan Manuel Contreras San Martin, Victor Eduardo Osses Conejeros And Jose Alfredo Soto Ruz, Chile, March 12, 2002, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights"
Information Location 1:	https://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/2002eng/Chile11715.htm
Information Source 2:	"World Report 2003: Chile, Human Rights Watch"
Information Location 2:	http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/americas3.html
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Juan Manuel Contreras San Martín

Charge:

Aggravated Homicide

Sentence:

10 years

Years Imprisoned:

5

Year Crime:

1989

Year Convicted:

1994

Year Cleared:

1995

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Chile

County or Region of Crime:

Talca

City of Crime:

Talca

Result:

Judicially Exonerated Released

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

False confession extracted by the police under duress and without access to a lawyer.

Innocence Proved By:

"Chile's Supreme Court vacated the three defendant's convictions and acquitted them on January 19, 1995."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Report No. 32/02, Friendly Settlement, Case 11.715, Juan Manuel Contreras San Martin, Victor Eduardo Osses Conejeros And Jose Alfredo Soto Ruz, Chile, March 12, 2002, Inter-American Commission on Human Rights"

Information Location 1:

https://www.cidh.oas.org/annualrep/2002eng/Chile11715.htm

Information Source 2:

"World Report 2003: Chile, Human Rights Watch"

Information Location 2:

http://www.hrw.org/wr2k3/americas3.html

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Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

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