Photo: Northern California Innocence Project
Joaquin Ciria can receive compensation of R$ 7.4 million
After spending more than half his life in prison for a crime he did not commit, Joaquin Ciria, 61, was acquitted by the San Francisco Superior Court on Monday. The date marked the exact 32 years of his imprisonment.
Ciria was convicted in 1991 of the murder of Felix Bastarrica, committed a year earlier. Although there is no evidence linking him to the crime, prosecutor Chesa Boudin said in a statement, “rumbles from the street and testimony from getaway driver George Varela” pointed to the man’s guilt.
At the trial, two of the three eyewitnesses were white, who identified Ciria as the killer based on the color of their skin. The same witnesses were compromised by the distance and the lighting of the location considering the crime happened during the night.
Chesa Boundin says the jury disregarded police pressure to have Varela identify Ciria as the killer in exchange for his immunity. In addition, two alibis of the convict, who was at home with his newborn son at the time of the crime, were not even heard.
The new investigation was led by Cira’s attorney, Ellen Eggers, in conjunction with legal NGO Northern California Innocence Project, and focused on police reports, court transcripts and other documents from the case. According to a bulletin published by the organization, Bastarrica was reportedly killed by an acquaintance of Varela and Ciria.
In addition to exoneration, Syria is also entitled to financial compensation for the time he has been unjustly detained. He is paid US$140 (about R$647) for each day in jail, an amount approaching US$1.6 million (R$7.4 million).
* directed by Enzo Menezes