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PUBLISHER'S NOTE: This Blog is interested in false confessions because of the disturbing number of exonerations in the USA, Canada and multiple other jurisdictions throughout the world, where, in the absence of incriminating forensic evidence the conviction is based on self-incrimination – and because of the growing body of scientific research showing how vulnerable suspects are to widely used interrogation methods such as the notorious ‘Reid Technique.’ As all too many of this Blog's post have shown, I also recognize that pressure for false confessions can take many forms, up to and including physical violence, even physical and mental torture.
Harold Levy: Publisher; The Charles Smith Blog:
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "At least 51 people have had convictions linked to Guevara overturned. While Guevara has never been charged with a crime, the CBS News Chicago investigators for years dug into the accusations of Guevara coercing false confessions as far back as the 1980s. In January, the City Council approved a $17.5 million settlement for Thomas Sierra, who spent more than 22 years in prison for a 1995 murder before he was exonerated in 2018. Sierra, who had been jailed since he was 19, had accused Guevara of manipulating witnesses into identifying him as the person who killed Noel Andujar."
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Dozens more lawsuits accusing Guevara of framing suspects are still pending in federal court. STORY: "$17 million settlement recommended for man framed by disgraced CPD detective Reynaldo Guevara", by Reporter Todd Feurer, published bt CBS Chicago, on July 10, 2025. (Todd Feurer is a web producer for CBS Chicago.)
GIST: "A man who spent 23 years in prison after he was framed by a disgraced former Chicago police detective for a 1994 double murder could soon get a $17 million settlement recommended by the city's attorneys.
Roberto Almodovar was released from prison in 2017, when then-Cook County State's Attorney Kim Foxx dropped all charges against him and co-defendant William Negron in the murders of Amy Merkes and Jorge Rodriguez and the attempted murders of Kennelly Saez and Jacqueline Grande.
On Monday, the City Council Finance Committee will vote on a $17 million settlement recommended by the city's Law Department. If approved, the full City Council could vote on the settlement on Wednesday.
Almodovar and Negron accused former detective Reynaldo Guevara of falsely identifying them as the shooters, and pressuring Grande and Saez to pick them out of a lineup. Grande and Saez said Guevara showed them photos of Almodovar and Negron before the lineup, and claimed they were the gunmen.
According to Almodovar's lawsuit, no physical evidence linked him to the crime, and police knowingly ignored his alibi that he was at work and school at the time of the shooting, which was verified by at least seven witnesses.
An appeals court threw out Almodovar's and Negron's convictions in 2013, and ordered new hearings in the case before the charges were dropped in 2017.
Negron's lawsuit against the city is still pending.
At least 51 people have had convictions linked to Guevara overturned.
While Guevara has never been charged with a crime, the CBS News Chicago investigators for years dug into the accusations of Guevara coercing false confessions as far back as the 1980s.
In January, the City Council approved a $17.5 million settlement for Thomas Sierra, who spent more than 22 years in prison for a 1995 murder before he was exonerated in 2018.
Sierra, who had been jailed since he was 19, had accused Guevara of manipulating witnesses into identifying him as the person who killed Noel Andujar.
Dozens more lawsuits accusing Guevara of framing suspects are still pending in federal court.
The entire story can be read at:
roberto-almodovar-settlement-wrongful-conviction-detective-reynaldo-guevara
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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