Nelson Gonzalez was in prison at the time of his father's death. He couldn't attend his daughter's wedding. Marilyn Mulero didn't get to see her children's childhoods.
Her voice broke as she said that it had been hard to lose her brother. He was my strongest ally.
There are three Chicago families affected by the murder convictions of three people.
Judges overturned seven murder convictions in one day. The exonerees spent decades in prison for killings that took place between 1989 and 1996.
There are eight cases that will be heard at the Criminal Court Building. The mass dismissal was announced at a news conference by the State's Attorney.
When we find an injustice, we must work diligently to correct it. The process at the Cook County state's attorney's office has been going on for a while.
They spoke with reporters after the hearings. People were emotional as they cheered and hugged each other. The faces of the accusers were shown.
The first woman to have a conviction overturned due to allegations of improper conduct was speaking.
When I was in prison, I had two toddlers. I fought for them. She wiped tears from her eyes as she said she had to be strong for them.
She spent 28 years in prison and was released in April 2020.
She said that there are other women out there that are innocent and that she will continue to fight for them.
Since 2016 there have been 31 convictions overturned in connection to Guevara's alleged wrongdoing.
The Gonzalez family was at the courthouse for the hearings and wanted to see him. He had been sentenced to life in prison after he was arrested.
We have been waiting for a while. Maria Gonzalez said that her father was taken away from her when she was young. We are going to pick him up over there.
Nelson Gonzalez was released from prison in 2016 after serving 22 years.
The conspiracy was created by the agents. He asked Kim Foxx to prosecute Guevara and the other agents that aided him. They made a lot of families chaotic. We are not going to give up. We are going to continue. We are going to continue to push.
Gonzalez wants to study criminal justice.
He wants to be a lawyer. I can speak from both sides because I know what I'm talking about. I am going to be focused on my family and helping the community. I won't give up just because I was vindicated.
Carlos Andino, who had been sentenced to 60 years, was one of the men who were freed Tuesday. The conviction of David Colon was thrown out last month.
Robinson's conviction was upheld Tuesday. Robinson was sentenced to 60 years in prison after he was arrested in 1996. He remained in custody pending further court proceedings.
Mulero said they would fight for Robinson. Today was not your day, but you are going to see it tomorrow. It is going to happen.
At the news conference, the state's attorney said that Guevara had repeatedly pleaded the Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself and then when asked questions, was not telling the whole truth. She said that her office hasn't pursued charges against the man yet.
She said that the first priority was to make sure that we could stand by the convictions.
There may be issues with the statute of limitations when it comes to prosecuting a former detective.
She talked about the pain of the family who lost a loved one. She said that the alleged misdeeds of Guevara hurt them as well.
It's difficult to lose a loved one and it's even harder to lose a loved one to violence. It is disappointing to believe that someone is being held accountable, only to be told that the conviction isn't valid. Guevara harms families who are looking for justice for the loss of their loved ones, not just those who may have been imprisoned for crimes that they didn't commit, but also those who may have been imprisoned for crimes that they weren't guilty of.
Three more cases will be reviewed in the next few weeks. If those convictions are thrown out, the number of vindicated Guevara accusers could go up to 35.
More cases are expected to be resolved in the upcoming weeks. We will review their cases as they come.
What would we like? Before he left the mic setup, Mulero asked.
The group of supporters and exonerees supported her.
What time do we want it?
It's now!
Adperez is a reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
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