The Los Angeles County Prosecutor’s Office, in the United States, announced this Monday the annulment of the conviction against Charlotte Pleytezdetained when she was pregnant, and Lombardo Palaciosarrested at just fifteen years of age, who spent more than 17 years in prison for a murder they did not commit.
In a press conference, the Los Angeles prosecutor, Nathan Hochman, apologized “for the years of hardship” that the two Hispanics suffered. after being unjustly sentenced to fifty years for the shooting death of Héctor Luis Flores on March 28, 2007.
“This case highlights the importance of not resting until justice is done, reviewing even past cases with the utmost care to ensure that the correct and fair result is achieved”the prosecutor has assured.
The two Hispanics were convicted in 2009, after eyewitnesses recognized Palacios and Pleytez, then 15 and 20 years old, respectively, like the people who shot the victim after an argument in a parking lot.
The police had included both on a list of members of a Hispanic gang, who allegedly operated in the area where the murder occurred. After hours of interrogation and pressure from the police, Palacios admitted that he had committed the murder although the details did not match the caseaccording to information cited by Los Angeles TimesFor his part, Pleytez, who did not know the minor, always maintained his innocence. The woman was pregnant when she was arrested and gave birth behind bars.
Lawyers’ efforts
The overturning of the conviction was achieved through the efforts of California Innocence Advocates, and attorneys Nicolas Tomas and Matt Lombard. Thomas, what He knew about the Palacios case since he was at universitysubmitted the initial application in 2022 to the Conviction Review Unit (CRU) established by former prosecutor George Gascón.
“Charlotte (Pleytez), Lombardo (Palacios), their families and the entire legal team are deeply grateful to CRU for providing a platform to present this case and for work collaboratively to discover truths that finally freed our clients,” Tomas said in the statement.
“We are reluctant to say that justice has been done, because the injustices that our clients have suffered during “Almost two decades are unfathomable,” Lombard has stated for his part.
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