In October, Jose Olivares, a 39-year-old man wrongfully incarcerated for 13 years in the death of his girlfriend’s son, was released after a Los Angeles County judge vacated his conviction. Lawyers from two Innocence Projects and a unit of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office had filed together to overturn his conviction.
Olivares was arrested in 2011 following the tragic death of his girlfriend’s almost four-year-old son from an accidental short fall.
Dr. Judy Melinek, a renowned forensic pathologist, authored a report in 2023 after a thorough review at NCIP’s request, and stated that an accidental short fall was the “reasonable and likely explanation” for the decedent’s injuries.
Everyday Injustice talks with Lauryn Barbosa Findley of the Northern California Innocence Project who worked to free Olivares.
“Mr. Olivares’ case is both extraordinarily unique and tragically common because faulty medical testimony has been used for too long to convict far too many loving parents and caretakers,” said NCIP Clinical Supervising Attorney Lauryn Barbosa Findley. “The facts always showed that Mr. Olivares was innocent but the medicine needed time to catch up and prove it. We strongly urge the DA’s office to heed the medical evidence and not try him erroneously a second time.”
