REYNALDO MUNOZ - The 3000th person exonerated in the United States
On February 22, 2022, Judge Atcherson issued a 56-page ruling that vacated Munoz’s convictions and ordered a new trial.
“When examined together, the pattern of behavior that developed regarding Halvorsen was that he and his partner would select random men from the Humboldt Park neighborhood as suspects in unsolved cases,” Judge Atcherson said. “Upon arriving at [the police station], both suspects and the chosen witnesses would be encouraged, manipulated, induced, threatened and/or physically abused into either making a false identification, making an identification that was not based on their own knowledge, or giving a false confession.”
“This Court finds that Detective Halvorsen’s misconduct in subsequent cases calls into question the integrity of Detective Halvorsen’s investigation into Mena’s murder,” the judge declared.
“Overall, the cases show that Detectives Halvorsen and Guevara were motivated by a desire to close cases regardless of whether they had found the actual perpetrator,” Judge Atcherson said. “The cases show a pattern of Halvorsen first seeking voluntary cooperation, and then using manipulation, inducements, and coercion if it is not given. This method was used to obtain false eyewitness identifications.”
“This Court finds that evidence in this case is of such conclusive character that it will probably change the result on retrial,” the judge said. “If even a fraction of the allegations included in this evidence had been presented at trial, Halvorsen’s credibility would have been damaged and Munoz would likely [have] been acquitted.”
Following Atcherson’s ruling vacating the convictions, the prosecution dismissed the charges.