‘I was going to die in prison’: 2 men wrongfully convicted of murder as teens are exonerated in separate Los Angeles cases

By Cindy Von Quednow, CNN

(CNN) — Two men wrongfully convicted in separate murder cases in California have been exonerated after “collectively spending decades in prison,” Los Angeles County District Attorney George Gascón said Wednesday.

Giovanni Hernandez was only 14 years old when he was arrested and charged in the death of a 16-year-old boy in a drive-by shooting in Culver City in 2006. He was convicted six years later and sentenced to 50 years to life in prison while maintaining his innocence.

Years earlier in 1998, Miguel Solorio was arrested in a drive-by shooting in Whittier that killed an 81-year-old woman. Solorio, 19 at the time, was eventually sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Both Hernandez and Solorio have been found innocent, Gascón said.

“I understand that this won’t bring back the many years each of you endure in prison, and I hope that our apology is some small comfort for you as you begin your new life,” the DA said.

Hernandez’ first claim for a conviction review was denied by a previous district attorney’s administration, and the case was resubmitted in 2021, Gascón said.

Thanks to new evidence, including analysis of cellphone records by the FBI, it was determined that Hernandez was not at or near the location of the fatal shooting, but home with his family as he had always claimed, Gascón said.

Hernandez on Wednesday thanked God, his family and his legal team, including the Juvenile Innocence and Fair Sentencing Clinic at Loyola Law School’s Center for Juvenile Law and Policy.

He added that in this new chapter in his life, he hopes to help others who are in similar situations like the one he was in.

“I just want to be that voice for those who cannot speak who are still in juvenile hall, or L.A. County Jail filing a case, or in prison spending decades for a crime they did not commit,” Hernandez said.

‘I’ll never forget the pain I endured’

Solorio was convicted of murder and sentenced to life without the possibility of parole after a woman was shot and killed in 1998 as she stopped at the same intersection a man and his friends had raced through after encountering men demanding to know their gang affiliation as they tried to buy marijuana, the district attorney’s office said.

Decades later in 2021, it was determined that Solorio was misidentified as his brother in a photo line up, Gascón said. The DA did not elaborate on whether the brother was involved.

Solorio’s conviction was eventually vacated with help from the Northern California Innocence Project. The case was dismissed and he was released from prison last month after 25 years behind bars – just in time for Thanksgiving, Gascón said.

“The process of arresting and convicting me happened so fast,” Solorio said. “It felt like in the blink of an eye I was behind bars, sentenced to life without the possibility of parole, which meant I was going to die in prison. And while it felt like no time at all to put me there, it took 25 years for me to get out, 25 years for justice to finally be served.”

Solorio and his wife Silvia never gave up, he said, even when he reached a low point after his case had been rejected by several innocence projects. He said he had thoughts of suicide and ended up on a feeding tube after dropping so much weight.

“I’ll never forget the pain I endured,” he said.

Solorio said that gaining his freedom back has had its ups and downs.

It was “magical” to meet new members of his family and share tamales with them during Thanksgiving. But so much has changed since he was in prison. He’s had to learn to use an iPhone, has spent hours at the DMV trying to get an ID and got overwhelmed trying to shop for shoes.

“Healing is a process. I am taking it one day at a time and striving to enjoy every moment,” Solorio said. “I seize every opportunity I’ve been given because I have spent enough of my life waiting. Let my story be a lesson to everyone. Life is precious. Don’t take it for granted.”

District Attorney Gascón apologized for what both Solorio and Hernandez endured, and praised the work of his Conviction Integrity and Habeas unit.

“Our job is to hold people accountable when they cause harm, but we also must hold ourself and the system accountable when we fail,” Gascón said. “The exoneration and release of these individuals emphasizes the importance of continuing efforts to reform and improve our legal system to prevent such injustices from occurring in the future.”

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