A California inmate has been found innocent and released 33 years after being convicted of attempted murder. Daniel Saldana – now 55 years old – was wrongly sent behind bars, Los Angeles District Attorney George Gascón told the press on Thursday. The legal system failed in his case.
Saldana was sentenced to 45 years to life in prison in 1990. Two other people were in court with the 22-year-old at the time. They allegedly shot six high school students in a vehicle in Los Angeles who were mistaken for gang members. Two of the victims were injured, no one died. Saldana has always maintained his innocence. Co-convict exonerated Saldana At a hearing in 2017, one of the co-convicts stated that he was responsible for the shooting and that Saldana was not even at the scene. However, this exculpatory statement was not passed on at the time, but was only sent to the authorities in February this year, the prosecutor said. “It was a struggle.” He was grateful to be alive, Saldana said on Thursday in front of journalists and surrounded by his family . “It was a struggle to wake up every day knowing that you were innocently locked in a cell.” He had no means and no money to take action, Saldana said. But he always believed that “the day” would come.
