Rafael Madrigal
Years served: 9
County of Conviction
Los Angeles
Convicted of
First Degree Murder
Sentence
25 Years to Life
Released
October 6, 2009
Rafael Madrigal was convicted of a shooting in 2002, even though he was 35 miles from the crime scene working on the assembly line in a factory, and there was no evidence nor motive linking him to the crime. The only evidence was a cross-racial identification of a photo of Rafael when he was much younger. Rafael was exonerated when an audio recording from a jailhouse call was discovered where the actual shooter admitted to the crime. There was also definitive proof of Rafael’s alibi that was not obtained by the trial lawyer, including timecards and witnesses proving Rafael was at work. Most compelling was the testimony of a supervisor stating that if Rafael wasn’t at work the assembly line would have shut down because he was the only one who knew how to use a laminating machine that was part of the assembly process. For more information about Rafael’s case go to: https://californiainnocenceproject.org/read-their-stories/rafael-madrigal/