The crimes of Reynaldo Guevara: Chicago vacates SEVEN decades-old convictions after disgraced detective exposed
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS: Judges have dropped seven murder convictions against inmates on Tuesday, August 9, who were framed by retired Chicago police detective Reynaldo Guevara. Many of the exonerees have spent years in prison for slayings that took place between 1989 and 1996. However, Guevara remains accused of giving falsified evidence and intimidated witnesses, as per reports by DailyMail.
According to BuzzFeed, the six men and one woman were part of a group of around 70 individuals who had been claiming for years that Guevara, with his partners and other officers, had manipulated and forced witnesses into making false identifications, pressured child witnesses to point out the wrong suspects, developed anonymous tips, among others. While two people, Alfredo Gonzalez, who spent 22 of his 53 years behind bars, and Marilyn Mulero, who spent 28 years, were released on August 10 among five others who had already been released from prison, one remains in custody pending further court proceedings, as per DailyMail report.
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Commenting on his release, as quoted by Chicago Sun Times. Gonzalez said, “I feel blessed and I’m humbled because I know what it is to lose it all, and now I have an opportunity to enjoy. I call it my rebirth. Now I’m older, I’m wiser."
Attorneys representing the defendants in hearings at the George M Leighton Criminal Courthouse said it was the single-largest mass exoneration of murder cases in the city’s history, as per Chicago Sun Times. One of those attorneys, Russell Ainsworth, while calling Guevara “a stain on the justice system we have to eradicate,” said, "I’m here to thank Kim Foxx [Cook County State's Attorney] for doing the right thing, and I have a message for Kim Foxx: more. This is just the beginning. There is too much injustice. We need to do more."
The seven individuals, whose convictions were dropped, had spent 174 years in prison combined, with all but two of them, Carlos Andino and Alfredo Gonzalez, having served their complete sentences. A total of 36 people have now had their convictions vacated based on Guevara’s misconduct.
The crimes of Reynaldo Guevara
Guevara has been accused of intimidating witnesses and falsifying evidence in multiple cases. An Illinois Appellate Court opinion in one case said, "Guevara has a history of influencing witnesses," while another called Guevara "a malignant blight on the Chicago Police Department and the judicial system."
In 2017, BuzzFeed article mentioned that Guevara is accused of framing at least 51 people for murder. And the investigation by the outlet chronicled his alleged abuses and tactics in and around the Latino neighborhood of Humboldt Park. The Illinois Appellate Court then tagged Guevara as “a malignant blight” on the Chicago Police Department. His misconduct has cost the city a combined $46 million in damages in four federal civil rights cases, and 14 more are pending, as per the 2022 report by the outlet.
As per CBS, Foxx on August 10 hearing said, "Any allegations of ethical misconduct or professional misconduct will certainly be a part of that review but where we are today is simply looking at the convictions."