Two cousins who have spent 42 years behind bars walk free after being exonerated for the murders of two Chicago teenagers: The men, now 62 and 60, will spend Christmas with their families for the first time since 1981
Two cousins who spent nearly half a century behind bars for a crime they didn't commit have finally tasted freedom after being acquitted of murder.
Jimmy Soto, 62, and his cousin David Ayala, 60, were convicted in 1981 of murdering two Chicago teenagers, despite no physical evidence ever linking them to the crime.
Both men pleaded their innocence for 42 years until they were finally released on Thursday evening, with Soto seen in heartwarming footage being greeted by his family as he left the Stateville Correctional Center for the final time.
Soto said he survived his ordeal because of “the fact that I knew I was innocent,” adding, “The only other alternative is to give up, and that was not an option.”
Jimmy Soto (left) and David Ayala (right) were just 20 and 18 years old respectively when they were given life sentences for the 1981 murders of a teenage couple
Both men pleaded their innocence for 42 years, and their convictions were criticized by experts without physical evidence linking them to the crime.
The two men are believed to have served the longest time in prison for a wrongful conviction in Illinois history, breaking the record held by Jackie Wilson, who served 35 years before being acquitted in 2020.
As he walked out of prison, Soto said he was “excited, elated and exuberant” but still felt “a little righteous anger” about the system that kept him wrongfully incarcerated for so long.
“It shouldn't have taken 42 years for this to happen,” Soto added.
Ayala's attorneys say their client spent 15 years of his 42-year sentence in solitary confinement at Tamms Correctional Center in Illinois, which closed in 2013.
Both men were seen in heartwarming images as they spent their first night of freedom at a Christmas party as they enjoyed the festive period with their families for the first time in more than four decades.
The pair were serving life sentences for the Aug. 16, 1981, murders of Julie Limas, 16, and U.S. Marine Hector Valerino.
Soto and Ayala, who were 20 and 18 at the time, were accused of killing the couple by carrying out a drive-by on a crowd during a softball game.
Prosecutors alleged that Ayala was the leader of the Two Six gang and ordered Soto to commit the shooting that killed the young couple.
As he walked out a free man, Soto said he was “excited, elated and exuberant” but still felt “a little righteous anger” about the system that kept him wrongly incarcerated for so long.
Soto was seen in jubilant scenes enjoying a Christmas party during his first night of freedom
David Ayala joined his cousin at the party and celebrated after a 40-year wait for justice
Soto was welcomed by his family in heartwarming scenes as he left the Stateville Correctional Center for the final time
But because neither man ever confessed to the murders and there was no physical evidence, their convictions depended almost entirely on witness testimony, according to their lawyers.
They claimed that three key witnesses to the incident gave investigators descriptions that pointed to other suspects.
A dozen people were reportedly arrested for the crime and charged with murder, and attorneys for Soto and Ayala argued that officers used the threat of charges to coerce others into implicating the cousins.
Wally “Gator” Cruz, who admitted to being the driver of the car involved in the drive-by, testified against the cousins, but witnesses later said Cruz's statement was false, police said. Chicago Sun Times.
Cruz was initially charged with murder, but received a plea deal with the state for a five-year prison sentence.
Other witnesses who implicated them in their original trial, in addition to Cruz, all later withdrew their accusations against the couple as well.
Soto and Ayala both petitioned for their release in 2015, but a judge threw out the case after it was heard by lower courts.
Eight years later, a judge agreed that their conviction should be overturned because their assistant attorney general may have had a conflict of interest by also representing one of the state's witnesses.
Their lawyers argued that if the men were forced to go through a new trial, they were confident a jury would acquit them as well.
Prosecutors alleged that Soto (left) opened fire on a crowd outside a softball game at the instruction of his cousin, but the story came under intense scrutiny after their convictions.
Soto earned a bachelor's degree from Northwestern University behind bars last month and now plans to pursue a law degree to “help people like me.”
Their case recently came through thanks to attorneys from the University of Chicago Exoneration Project, who took their case this year.
Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, an attorney with the Exoneration Project, said despite their ordeal, “These are not bitter men.”
“These are men who are grateful to be home and with their families, and we are proud of them.”
Soto spent his time behind bars getting an education, earning a bachelor's degree through Northwestern University's Prison Education Program in November.
He said he now plans to study law, and after taking a law school entrance exam, friends say he has already gotten a job.
'There's someone in a cell… who feels all hope is lost. It is my hope that I can help one of them,” he said.
“I want to be that lawyer who can help people like me.”