Joaquin Varela

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Charge:	Murder
Sentence:	Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole
Years Imprisoned:	9
Year Crime:	1981
Year Convicted:	1982
Year Cleared:	1991
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Illinois
County or Region of Crime:	Cook
City of Crime:	Chicago
Result:	Pardoned
Summary of Case:	"Rogelio Arroyo, Isauro Sanchez, Ignacio Varela, and Joaquin Varela were co-defendants wrongly convicted in 1982 of a quadruple murder in Chicago. The four codefendants were Hispanic and didn't speak English. Joaquin Varela falsely admitted to involvement in the murders, and in doing so implicated his three co-defendants in the crime. They were all sentenced to life in prison. Their convictions were affirmed on direct appeal. An Illinois State Police investigation discovered three witnesses who did not testify at the trial and confirmed that the actual killers had fled to Mexico, one of whom admitted his guilt. Based on the new evidence Illinois Governor James Thompson commutted the sentences of the four defendants to time served and they were released. In 1991 Illinois Governor James Thompson granted a full pardon to the four men conditioned on their agreement not to sue Illinois for false imprisonment."
Conviction Caused By:	Mistaken eyewitness identification.
Innocence Proved By:	"Pardoned by Illinois Governor James Thompson based on a Illinois State Police investigation that discovered three witnesses who did not testify at the trial and confirmed that the actual killers had fled to Mexico, one of whom admitted his guilt."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	No. Waived right to sue for compensation as condition of pardon.
Was Perpetrator Identified?	Yes
Age When Imprisoned:	22
Age When Released:	32
Sex:	Male
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"“In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases,” Michael L Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam, Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1992, p. 283-4."
Information Location 1:
Information Source 2:	"Joaquin Varela, The National Registry of Exonerations"
Information Location 2:	http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3704
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Joaquin Varela

Charge:

Murder

Sentence:

Life Imprisonment without possibility of parole

Years Imprisoned:

9

Year Crime:

1981

Year Convicted:

1982

Year Cleared:

1991

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Illinois

County or Region of Crime:

Cook

City of Crime:

Chicago

Result:

Pardoned

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Mistaken eyewitness identification.

Innocence Proved By:

"Pardoned by Illinois Governor James Thompson based on a Illinois State Police investigation that discovered three witnesses who did not testify at the trial and confirmed that the actual killers had fled to Mexico, one of whom admitted his guilt."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

No. Waived right to sue for compensation as condition of pardon.

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Yes

Age When Imprisoned:

22

Age When Released:

32

Sex:

Male

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"“In Spite of Innocence: Erroneous Convictions in Capital Cases,” Michael L Radelet, Hugo Adam Bedau, and Constance E. Putnam, Northeastern University Press, Boston, 1992, p. 283-4."

Information Location 1:

Information Source 2:

"Joaquin Varela, The National Registry of Exonerations"

Information Location 2:

http://www.law.umich.edu/special/exoneration/Pages/casedetail.aspx?caseid=3704

Information Source 3:

Information Location 3:

Information Source 4:

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: