Texas man freed after being found innocent in 2001 killing
Source: Associated Press
Updated 4:22 pm, Wednesday, May 30, 2018
DALLAS (AP) — A man who spent 15 years in prison for the 2001 killing of a teenager was freed on Wednesday after a judge agreed with prosecutors that he didn't commit the crime.
Dallas County District Attorney Faith Johnson said Quintin Lee Alonzo, 38, was freed after the judge agreed with a petition from prosecutors declaring him innocent in the 2001 death of Santos Gauna, who was killed when a fight broke out at a party celebrating his high school graduation and decision to join the Marines.
Although Alonzo was freed because prosecutors and the judge believe he's innocent, due largely to the confession of a condemned man the day before that man's execution, Alonzo would still need the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to formally exonerate him to be eligible for state compensation for being falsely imprisoned. That ruling could take months.
Officials say an "exhaustive investigation" corroborated the 2015 confession that Licho Escamilla gave to investigators from the district attorney's office's conviction integrity unit right before Escamilla was put to death for the killing of an off-duty Dallas police officer.
Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/texas/article/Dallas-officials-say-imprisoned-man-is-innocent-12954055.php
