Gerardo Cabanillas was wrongfully convicted of rape, robbery, and kidnapping that occurred in 1995. What began as a misidentification turned into a false confession after investigators tricked him into admitting to the crime. Due to his youth and inexperience, Cabanillas trusted the investigators when they told him he could go home—if he confessed.

Most Americans don’t realize that police are legally allowed to lie to suspects during criminal investigations. They can misrepresent evidence, fabricate witness statements, and even imply lenient deals or punishments that don’t exist. These deceptive tactics are known to cause false confessions during interrogations.

It took years of persistence and DNA evidence to finally prove Cabanillas’s innocence. Thanks to the hard work of The Innocence Center and the California Western Innocence and Justice Clinic, he was exonerated in Los Angeles Superior Court on September 21, 2023, after serving 28 years behind bars for crimes he did not commit.

The mini-documentary above tells the story of Gerardo Cabanillas, his legal team, and the long fight to set him free.

To learn more about his case, please see the Associated Press article linked here.

Written by:
Laurence Colletti