OBIE ANDERSON EXONERATED AFTER SEVENTEEN YEARS

Obie Anderson was released Tuesday, with the help of the Project for the Innocent at Loyola Law School and the Northern California Innocence Project at Santa Clara University School of Law, after spending seventeen years in prison for the murder and robbery of Felipe Gonzales. He was falsely convicted of killing Gonzales outside a South Los Angeles brothel in a 1995 trial. He was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Like 75 per cent of all exonerations in this country the conviction was based on eye witness testimony. The primary witness against him was a pimp, John Jones. However Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Kelvin D. Filer ordered Anderson’s release after finding that the pimp lied at the trial. Not only did Jones lie, but the prosecutor knew he was lying and failed to inform the court. Jones has since admitted that he could not identify the killer. Jones was not only directed by the police on who to pick out of the picture line-up but he was rewarded for his false information. Neither the defense nor the jury were were told about the reward. Anderson has always claimed that he was not present at the time of the murder.

Furthermore evidence at the hearing on the writ of habeas corpus pointed at Jones as the actual killer. The bullets came from the roof. Jones was probably on the roof. Furthermore the gun was similar to Jones’ gun.

Now he’s looking forward to seeing the Lakers.