CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Francisco Benitez, 52 was 18, when he was convicted of the 1989 murder of two teenagers, Prudencio Cruz and William Sanchez, both 14, but has said he was innocent all these years
He finally walked free on Tuesday, 26 September, after Cook County prosecutors dropped all charges against him.
Benitez was accused of killing a man in 1989 when he was only 18 years old. He said he had an alibi, but the police coerced him into confessing. He was convicted by a jury and sentenced to life in prison.
How was Francisco Benitez freed?
With the help of lawyers from the Exoneration Project and a private firm, he presented two eyewitness evidence that testified he was not the killer.
Anand Swaminathan, his attorney said the witnesses were afraid to come forward.
In August, a judge vacated his conviction and said he had sufficient evidence of his innocence.
However, he was not fully cleared until Tuesday, when the prosecutors decided not to retry him.
The judge ordered the removal of his curfew and the ankle monitor he was placed on in August after his release from jail and said “This case is over”.
Francisco Benitez said he was not bitter
He said, "It feels great. The state dropped the charges, and I'm done, free." Benitez said he was not bitter, but he hoped the system would be fixed.
He said there were more innocent people like him in prison. He also said he had plans to celebrate his new life with his family.
Benitez said he would go to Disney World with his mom for her 70th birthday, watch a Bears game, and visit his sister in Arkansas.
“I’m not bitter,” he said. “I’m just…the system needs to be fixed. It’s very, very broken. There’s more guys like me going through this.”
“For my 70th birthday, we’re going to Florida, Orlando for Disney and that’s how we’re gonna celebrate,” Betty Benitez, Francisco’s mother said.
Detectives who framed Francisco Benitez have been accused of wrongly framing others
Thaddeus 'TJ' Jimenez won $25 million in 2012 from a lawsuit against two former Chicago police detectives, Jerome Bogucki and Raymond Schalk as per CBS Chicago.
They had wrongfully convicted him of a double murder. However, Jimenez later used the money to fund and expand his gang, the Simon City Royals.
He also tried to recruit members from another gang, the Vice Lords. In 2015, he was found guilty of shooting a rival gang member.
"It was fake, it was made up, and it was used to put a case on a young man, because they couldn't figure out who had actually done it," Swaminathan said.
He said, "There is no witness who at trial ever said they had seen the shooting, or even saw a gun, who identified Frankie Benitez."
Benitez also said he was framed by CPD detectives who worked out of Area 5.
