Witness Tried to Recant, but LAPD Wouldn’t Listen: Innocent Man Served 19 Yrs as a Result

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In 1993 rival gangs in LA had a shootout in which one person was killed and one person was injured. Shortly therafter a man was picked up and charged with the shootings. This man was John Edward Smith a gang member that lived close to where the shootings occurred. Smith denied committing the crimes and produced an alibi for the time that the incident occurred but the LAPD produced a witness that said otherwise. The witness, who was one of the gang bangers injured in the shooting identified Smith as the shooter, gave the prosecution an air-tight case.

Two years later in 1995, John Edward Smith was convicted of the murder and attempted murder that had occurred in 1993 by a jury in Los Angeles after 3 hours of deliberation. He was then sentenced to life in prison and began serving his sentence, although he maintained that he was innocent throughout the 2 year process that lead to his conviction.