On June 28, 1997, 25-year-old member of the Lil Watts gang, Antonio Alarcon, was killed in a drive-by shooting in Hawthorne, California, by a rival gang, Lawndale 13. In exchange for release on unrelated charges, Santo “Payaso” Alvarez deflected attention for the Alarcon shooting toward fellow Lawndale 13 members Eduardo Dumbrique and John Klene, when he knew who the actual shooter was. Witness Daniel Curiel testified that after he was not able to make an identification in a photo lineup, Sergeant Doral Riggs pointed to the photos of Eduardo and John, convincing him to make the ID. However, Eduardo and John's alibis were corroborated by many friends and neighbors. Additionally, the actual shooter reached out to Eduardo’s family to confess to the murder. Regardless of the alibis, the confession, and the lack of physical or forensic evidence, Eduardo and John were convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

In this updated episode, Jason Flom checks in with Eduardo and John at the 2023 Innocence Network Conference to hear what they've been up to since their episode aired.   

To learn more and get involved, please visit:

https://www.pjlawcenter.org/page/2364325-home

http://www.innocencematters.org/ 

https://www.instagram.com/johnklene_free/ 

Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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