[justice rarely exists in the present moment for non-whites] Latino Man cleared in '94 rape walks out of prison after 20 years in jail

Honored White Prosector Ignored DNA Evidence. In photo, racist suspect Michael Waller fought for years to prevent inmates from going free after DNA had suggested their innocence. On March 11, 2014 the Lake County Bar Association gave Waller, who spent 22 years as prosecutor before retiring in December 2012, an award recognizing his "outstanding characteristics, prosecution history, work with the public and contributions to the quality of prosecution and the image of prosecutors." The bar association's board includes, among others, Waller's former colleagues from the prosecutor's office. [MORE]

From [HERE] A Latino man walked out of prison last Tuesday evening, nearly 20 years after he was convicted of a rape and abduction that authorities now say he did not commit.

Angel Gonzalez, who spent about half of his life incarcerated for the Lake County conviction, hugged his attorneys at the Dixon Correctional Center gatehouse before emerging a free man. "I'm free," he said. "Thank God."

Lake County authorities cleared Gonzalez of the rape conviction on Monday after determining that new DNA testing of evidence eliminated him as the one of the two men who committed the crime. But he was not freed right away because he still had a property damage conviction on his record, stemming from an incident in which he broke a sink while in solitary confinement in prison, his lawyers said.

They went to court earlier Tuesday in downstate Livingston County, where a judge agreed to void that charge, paving the way for his release hours later.

Last Monday, a Lake County judge vacated Gonzalez's conviction for the abduction and rape of a woman in Waukegan in July 1994. State's Attorney Mike Nerheim agreed to ask for Gonzalez's freedom after recent DNA tests showed that bodily fluids collected as evidence had come from two men, neither of whom was Gonzalez. Nerheim, who took office long after Gonzalez was convicted, said it was clear that this indicated he wasn't guilty and that two other men, who have yet to be identified, committed the crime.

Nerheim apologized for the case outside court, striking a markedly different tone than his predecessor, Michael Waller, who generally remained unapologetic in public as DNA repeatedly indicated he had sent innocent men to prison. Five rape or murder cases have collapsed in Lake County since 2010; DNA cleared all the men, but they spent a combined 80 years behind bars. Prosecutors under Waller, who held the office for 22 years, were responsible for Gonzalez's prosecution and three of the other convictions.

In several cases, the prosecutor's office under Waller fought for years to prevent inmates from going free after DNA had suggested their innocence, and his office attracted unflattering national attention as prosecutors proposed alternate theories of the crimes that many found implausible.

Nerheim took office promising reform after Waller retired in 2012.

At about 7 p.m., Gonzalez, wearing a new dark gray track suit, walked out into an early evening fog that shrouded the prison. After raising his arms with his lawyers and staff from the Innocence Project in New York, he appeared jovial as he spoke with the assembled media.

The 41-year-old Gonzalez thanked his family, his supporters, his lawyers and the criminal authorities who worked for his release.

Gonzalez's lawyers had argued that the property damage conviction, for which he received a three-year sentence, to be served after he completed his 55-year term for the rape, should also be wiped away. They noted that the property crime occurred when he was in prison for a wrongful conviction, and also that Gonzalez, who speaks limited English, pleaded guilty to damaging the sink without the assistance of an interpreter.

"Right now, everybody is saying, finally, there is justice for him," said Angel's younger brother, Saul Gonzalez, 34. "Finally, this is over."

Following Angel Gonzalez's exoneration in Lake County, another issue threatened his prospects for immediate release: his immigration status. His lawyers said he had a visa in 1994 but that it expired after Gonzalez, a Mexican national, was arrested. One of his lawyers, Vanessa Potkin, from the Innocence Project in New York, said she was informed Tuesday that an immigration hold on Gonzalez had been lifted, allowing him to remain in the country as he seeks citizenship.