#456 Lauren Bright Pacheco with Frank Benitez

Wrongful Conviction

Lava for Good Podcasts

True Crime

4.6 • 5.7K Ratings

🗓️ 17 June 2024

⏱️ 57 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

On April 28th, 1989, 18-year-old Francisco Benitez was having a normal day. He picked up his paycheck, got a haircut, then went to his friend’s house to watch Beetlejuice on HBO. That same night two teenage boys were shot and killed. An eyewitness said as the shooter ran from the scene, she noticed that he had a fresh haircut. Despite no other similarities between Frank and her description of the shooter, not to mention no physical evidence, Frank was ultimately convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life without parole.

The prison environment was violent and dangerous, Frank says he often wondered “is this the day that I’m going to die in prison?” But his mother Betty was steadfast in her love and her belief in Frank’s innocence. She told him over and over to never give up, even after 34 years, to keep believing that a brighter day is coming.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

Francisco Benitez Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/innocent-man-exonerated-after-34-years

University of Chicago Law School Exoneration Project: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/exoneration

Loevy & Loevy Civil Rights Law Firm: https://www.loevy.com/

Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, I'm Rachel Martin. You probably know how interview podcasts with famous people usually go, right?
0:06.0	There's a host, a guest, and a light Q&A.
0:08.7	On NPR's new podcast Wild Card, we have ripped up the typical script.
0:13.2	It's part existential deep dive and part game show.
0:16.1	I ask actors, artists, and comedians
0:18.5	to play a game using a special deck of cards
0:21.4	to ask some of life's biggest questions.
0:24.0	Listen to NPR's Wild Card on the I Heart Radio app or wherever you get your podcast.
0:29.0	Hey, fam, I'm Simone Boyce.
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0:39.5	Like our recent episode with journalist, TV host, and best-selling author Brooke Baldwin
0:45.1	about leaving her toxic job and finding her voice. I have a voice and it's on me to
0:50.5	use it and to show others how they can use it every freaking day.
0:55.0	Listen to the Bright Side from Hello Sunshine on the I Heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever
0:59.7	you get your podcasts. A new season of Bridgerton is here and with it.
1:09.8	A new season of Bridgererton, the official podcast.
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1:21.9	Then fall in love all over again by listening to
	...

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