Jose Maysonet
In May 1990, 26-year-old Kevin Wiley and his brother Torrence were shot to death on the west side of Chicago. Jose Maysonet, then 22, was arrested later that year based on coerced statements from witnesses and intense interrogation tactics.
Maysonet, who was non-English speaking and intellectually challenged, was subjected to a 17-hour interrogation by Detective Reynaldo Guevara, who repeatedly beat him with a flashlight and telephone book, threatened his family, and denied him an attorney. Eventually, Maysonet gave a false statement implicating himself in the murders.
At trial in 1995, Maysonet was convicted of two counts of first-degree murder and sentenced to life without parole, despite evidence that the confession was coerced. Appeals and post-conviction petitions highlighted Guevara’s history of coercing confessions and conflicts of interest by Maysonet’s defense attorney.
Finally, on November 15, 2017, the prosecution dismissed the charges after key officers invoked their Fifth Amendment rights and refused to testify. Maysonet was immediately released and later filed a federal civil rights lawsuit for his wrongful conviction.
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