#243 Guest Host Patrick Pursley with Jacques Rivera

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 2 February 2022

⏱️ 43 minutes

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Summary

In 1988, 16 year old Felix Valentin was shot in his car in an alley on the West Side of Chicago. Before slipping into a coma and eventually death, he was able to identify his shooter and the getaway driver, 2 members of the Imperial Gangsters. An 11 year old eyewitness named Orlando Lopez initially identified Jacques Rivera, a member of the Latin Kings. Shortly after, Lopez realized his mistake, but Detective Reynaldo Guevara would not listen. Guevara claimed that the victim had identified Jacques as well, and the juvenile witness went along with it. Jacques went to a bench trial in front of Judge Michael Close who had recently been a focus of Operation Greylord, one of the biggest judicial corruption investigations in US history. Judge Close would not admit the victim's initial ID's as evidence, and Jacques was sentenced to 80 years. 23 years later, the Center on Wrongful Convictions eventually unearthed the reluctant witness, who greeted them with relief, saying that he’d been waiting to tell the truth. Detective Guevara's corruption has cost the citizens of Chicago over 50 million dollars so far, in addition to the freedom of over 20 innocent men and women. To learn more and get involved, visit: https://www.innocentdemandjustice.com/ https://www.law.northwestern.edu/legalclinic/wrongfulconvictions/ https://lavaforgood.com/podcast/155-jason-flom-with-marilyn-mulero/ https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good Podcasts in association with Signal Co No1.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to a very special episode of Ronfell Conviction, in which we're trying something
0:08.3	new.
0:09.3	I've asked a previous guest to take on my usual role as interviewer.
0:13.8	You might remember Patrick Persley from his own episode of Ronfell Conviction.
0:18.4	Patrick did what seemed to be the impossible to win his freedom.
0:22.9	He got a law changed from inside prison to allow for the post-conviction ballistics testing
0:28.6	that proved his innocence, just an amazing feat accomplished by a truly amazing guy.
0:34.6	And now he brings us an interview with another innocent man who he knew while inside Illinois's
0:40.6	state-built pedotentiary, Jacques Rivera.
0:49.7	On August 27, 1988, a 16-year-old named Felix Valentin was shot in his car on the West
0:55.7	side of Chicago.
0:57.5	At the hospital, responding officers spoke with the victim who identified the shooter and
1:01.7	getaway drivers, members of the Imperial gangsters.
1:04.9	However, a corrupt detective named Ronfell Conviction, instead targeted Jacques Rivera, a member
1:11.0	of a different gang, the Latin Kings.
1:14.2	Jacques ran a local recreation center that could very often target it for information.
1:19.3	Despite the victim's dying declaration to responding officers, Conviction claimed to have
1:24.2	gotten a different identification during the 18 days before the victim's death.
1:29.0	He verified then misled an 11-year-old eyewitness to cooperate that focused identification
1:34.8	in charge of Jacques with the murder.
1:37.4	Jacques was tried under Judge Michael Close, who had recently been the focus of Operation
1:42.2	Greylord, one of the biggest judicial corruption investigations in the United States history.
	...

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