Two cousins who spent 42 years in an Illinois prison for murders they didn’t commit were formally exonerated on Thursday.
James Soto, 62, and David Ayala, 60, were sentenced to life for the 1981 drive-by shooting deaths of Julie Limas, 16, and U.S. Marine Hector Valeriano, 18, who were killed during a softball game in Chicago. The Chicago Sun-Times reported that the cousins’ convictions were vacated after their lawyers argued they were solely convicted on witness accounts that were later retracted.
Prosecutors claimed Ayala led the Two Six gang and ordered the drive-by. In addition to the recanted testimony, Ayala and Soto’s attorneys said cops had arrested 12 suspects who were coerced to implicate Sthem. No physical evidence linked them to the murders.
According to The Chicago Sun-Times, the only witness to directly implicate the cousins was Wally “Gator” Cruz, who claimed to have driven the car used in the deadly drive-by shooting. Not only was he offered a five-year sentence for his testimony, but other witnesses disputed his claims.
A judge initially denied Ayala and Soto’s petitions for a new trial in 2015, but an appellate court overturned that ruling last year.
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WLS reported that Soto was released on Thursday, while Ayala was released on Thursday or Friday. The pair served 42 years — the longest sentence for a wrongful conviction in Illinois’ history.
WMAQ reported that Soto earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University while incarcerated. He said he has taken the LSAT and wants to attend law school now that he is free.
According to the Chicago Sun-Times, Ayala said he is “elated” but full of “righteous anger.”
He told reporters, “It should not have taken 42 years for this to happen.”
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