A man convicted of a killing in a 1991 case botched by police investigators and his defense attorney is expected to walk free, decades after being declared guilty.
Joaquin Ciria was exonerated on April 18, following an extensive review and investigation by the San Francisco District Attorney’s Innocence Commission, according to San Francisco District Attorney Chesa Boudin.
The 61-year-old spent 32 years behind bars, after being incarcerated at 29 for the murder of his friend Felix Bastarrica, on Clara Alley in SoMa in 1990.
According to Boudin, no physical evidence linked Ciria to the crime, but police believed it was him based on street rumors and statements from the getaway driver, George Varela.
Varela testified in exchange for complete immunity that he drove Ciria to and from the scene. Boudin stated that Varela was pressured to name Ciria as the perpetrator when he was just a teenager. It was also found that Varela had admitted to the family of Ciria that he falsely testified.
Bastarrica had actually been killed by a mutual acquaintance of Varela and Ciria, the Northern California Innocence Project said in a news release on April 18.
Under California state law, Ciria is entitled to financial compensation at a rate of $140 per day for the 32 years he was in prison, which amounts to over $1.6 million dollars.
