Rafael Madrigal, Jr. will be released from the California Institution for Men today. Madrigal’s release follows the reversal of an attempted murder conviction for a July 2000 gang-related shooting in which Madrigal was never involved.

Last Thursday, Magistrate Judge Marc Goldman granted a motion for bail, filed on behalf of Madrigal by the California Innocence Project and co-counsel Eric Multhaup. Goldman cites several factors, including alibi witnesses, unreliable eyewitness identifications, and a favorable polygraph exam taken by Madrigal as indicators of Madrigal’s innocence and rationale for granting Madrigal’s bail.

“I must note that there is compelling evidence in this case that [Madrigal] is actually innocent of the crime for which he was convicted,” wrote Goldman in the October 1 court order.

“We are pleased that the judge understood that we did more than just undermine the conviction,” says California Western School of Law Professor and Innocence Project Co-Director Jan Stiglitz. “We presented affirmative evidence that Mr. Madrigal did not commit this crime and that he should not be considered a danger to the community or a flight risk.”

Madrigal’s release comes a month after the September 3, reversal of his conviction by U.S. District Court Judge Gary Feess.

“Rafael is an innocent man. He never should have spent a single day in prison,” says California Innocence Project Co-Director Justin Brooks.  ”No one can give him back the time he has lost, but I’m proud that our organization played a role in freeing him so he can spend the rest of his life with his family.”

Madrigal and co-defendant Francisco Olivares were charged with committing a drive-by shooting in East Los Angeles on behalf of the Ford Maravilla gang. He was convicted in January of 2002.

Witnesses testified that Madrigal and Olivares committed the July 2000 shooting. Madrigal contended his innocence from the beginning; at the time of the shooting he was at work at Proactive Packaging & Display in Rancho Cucamonga, approximately 35 miles away. A  petition submitted on Madrigal’s behalf by the California Innocence Project established his alibi and argued that his trial counsel was ineffective in his representation, failing to call an alibi witness or properly investigate the case.

During an evidentiary hearing on November 3, 2008, alibi witness Robert Howards, Madrigal’s direct supervisor at Proactive, testified that the production line would have shut down had Madrigal not been at work.  Madrigal was the only employee trained to operate the laminating machine and his failure to operate that piece of machinery would have impacted production. Howards was never called as a witness in Madrigal’s initial trial, despite his submission of a notarized alibi statement in Madrigal’s defense.

An audio tape was also produced during the evidentiary hearing. On the tape was a telephone conversation between Olivares and his girlfriend.  In the conversation, Olivares admits that Madrigal was not involved in the shooting, nor did he know any details of the crime.  The audio tape was never entered as evidence. The alibi witness and audio tape prove Madrigal’s innocence and were crucial in the reversal of Madrigal’s conviction.

Founded in 1999, the California Innocence Project is a law school clinical program housed at California Western School of Law. The Project is dedicated to the release of wrongfully convicted inmates and providing an outstanding educational experience for students enrolled in the clinic. The California Innocence Project reviews more than a 1,000 claims from inmates each year and has earned the exoneration of eight wrongfully convicted clients since its inception.