Francisco "Franky" Carrillo is an American politician, who was wrongfully convicted of the 1991 murder of Donald Sarpy and served twenty years in prison before his conviction was reversed by the Los Angeles County Superior Court on March 14, 2011. [1] A member of the Democratic Party, Carrillo currently serves on the Los Angeles County Probation Oversight Commission. [2]
Carrillo's conviction relied on eyewitness testimony from six people. The witnesses later admitted they did not have a view of the shooter, and instead had been influenced by police officers, and each other, to identify Carrillo. Two men have since confessed to the crime, and stated Carrillo was not involved. [3]
Although always professing his innocence, Carrillo was found guilty at his second trial after his initial trial resulted in a hung jury, and subsequent appeals. After Carrillo's case was taken on by Ellen Eggers, the Northern California Innocence Project, and attorneys from Morrison & Foerster, LLP, he was able to conclusively prove his innocence.
Carrillo's story has twice been featured on the podcast Strangers by Lea Thau. His story is also told in the Netflix series The Innocence Files . [4]
While in prison for a crime for which he was later exonerated, Franky Carrillo worked several jobs and learned multiple trades: teacher’s aide, counselor’s clerk, Braille transcriber, youth diversion counselor, auto mechanic, dietitian, physical therapy assistant, and many other skilled professions.
He served as an elected member and former chair of the Democratic Central Committee, [5] where he co-chaired the Judicial Interview Committee.
As an environmental advocate, Carrillo was a proponent of Measure A, the critical L.A. County parks and water bond measure that passed in 2016, because it provided funding for open space and improvements first and foremost in the communities that needed it most – marginalized neighborhoods. Franky also publicly supported Measure W, the 2018 Safe Clean Water Act for L.A. County, which according to a recent report [6] helped divert 96 billion gallons of urban runoff from recent rainy season to recharge our water table instead of flowing into the ocean.
Working closely with state legislative members of both houses and with stakeholders deeply devoted to social justice, Franky Carrillo supported and testified in committees for Senate Bill-9 Juvenile LWOP resentencing, [7] Senate Bill-260/261youthful offender parole hearing, [8] Senate Bill-923 (eye witness bill), Assembly Bill-1987 (post conviction discovery materials), Senate Bill-336 (Reentry services available to exonerees), Senate Bill-980 (which improves access to physical and biological evidence), Senate Bill-1058 (to expand false testimony claim to include outdated scientific testimony), and Assembly Bill-454 (which exempts wrongfully convicted individuals from paying state income tax on compensation).
Franky Carrillo has been a big advocate for youth. Including his work on closing of the Eastlake juvenile hall [9] , one of the oldest problematic juvenile halls in the state of California. Franky Carrillo also helped in establish the Franky Carrillo Teen Court, [10] a widely recognized alternative to the L.A. County Superior Court. Carrillo Teen Court is designed to empower students by educating them on the law, the power of their voice, and the courtroom process.
Franky Carrillo founded a nonprofit, The Restorative Project, which hosts formerly incarcerated individuals on an open, natural ranch to help them adjust to being free—and being in the natural environment is crucial to healing, especially when people are spending more and more time online.
He currently serves at the Chief Advisor to the Innocence Project and Special Advisor to the California Innocence Advocates. [11]
In April 2021, Carrillo was selected by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors to serve as the Chair of the Leadership Team of the county's Probation Oversight Commission. [12]
In April 2023, Carrillo announced his candidacy in the 2024 elections to represent California's 27th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. He withdrew from the race in October 2023. [13]
In October 2023, Carrillo launched a campaign for the California State Assembly in District 52. [14] He finished 2nd behind Democrat Jessica Caloza in the primary election on March 5, 2024. Carrillo and Caloza will face off in the general election on November 5, 2024. [15]
Artist and activist Shepard Fairey’s Studio Number One worked with California Assembly candidate Franky Carrillo [16] on a campaign poster for Carrillo’s run to represent District 52 in Los Angeles County. Credited for creating the original artwork is the design team at Studio Number One and creative directed by Shepard Fairey. The poster will become the image of the campaign’s get-out-the-vote effort to educate the public on this historic race, as Franky Carrillo could become the first exoneree elected to the California State Assembly.
Franky Carrillo is fighting to protect vulnerable people in Assembly District 52 because he knows what it is to be a target and victim of failed systems [17] . His life was deeply affected by the big issues that are most urgent to the people of his district—including public safety, healthcare, education, equity, job training, housing, and environmental racism.
His top legislative priorities include: [18]
In the Assembly race Franky Carrillo has been endorsed by La Opinion, [21] Knock LA, [22] LA Defensa, [23] LA Progressive, [24] Initiate Justice Action [25] and supported by unions, grassroots Democratic Party clubs, justice reform advocates, and Democratic State Senator Maria Elena Durazo along with many others. [26]
Assembly District 52 includes communities within Los Angeles County. They are, in alphabetical order: Atwater Village, Cypress Park, Eagle Rock, East Hollywood, East Los Angeles, Echo Park, El Sereno, Elysian Heights, Elysian Valley, Glassell Park, Glendale, Highland Park, Lincoln Heights, Los Feliz, Montecito Heights, Monterey Hills, Mt. Washington, and Silver Lake.
Carrillo has three children. [4]
Innocence Project, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit legal organization that works to exonerate the wrongly convicted through DNA testing and other forms of post-conviction relief, as well as advocate for criminal justice reform to prevent future injustice. The group cites various studies estimating that in the United States between 1% and 10% of all prisoners are innocent. The Innocence Project was founded in 1992 by Barry Scheck and Peter Neufeld who gained national attention in the mid-1990s as part of the "Dream Team" of lawyers who formed part of the defense in the O. J. Simpson murder case.
Phillip Chen is an American politician and member of the California State Assembly. He is a Republican representing the 59th Assembly District, encompassing parts of North Orange County, and small parts of San Bernardino County. The district includes the cities of Brea, Yorba Linda, Placentia, Villa Park, Orange, North Tustin, Anaheim Hills, Chino, and Chino Hills. Prior to being elected to the state assembly, he was a school board trustee for the Walnut Valley Unified School District.
Mark Leno is an American politician who served consecutively in both houses of the California State Legislature from 2002 to 2016. A Democrat, he represented the 11th Senate district, which includes San Francisco and portions of San Mateo County, from 2012 to 2016. Until the 2010 redistricting came into effect, he represented the 3rd Senate district (2008–2012). Prior to being elected to the State Senate in 2008, Leno served in the California State Assembly, representing the 13th district.
The California Democratic Party is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of California. It is headquartered in Sacramento, the state capital.
Exoneration occurs when the conviction for a crime is reversed, either through demonstration of innocence, a flaw in the conviction, or otherwise. Attempts to exonerate individuals are particularly controversial in death penalty cases, especially where new evidence is put forth after the execution has taken place. The transitive verb, "to exonerate" can also mean to informally absolve one from blame.
Ricardo Lara is an American politician who is currently serving as the 8th Insurance Commissioner of California. Lara was elected during the 2018 election, defeating former California insurance commissioner Steve Poizner.
This is a list of notable overturned convictions in the United States.
Timothy Brian Cole was an American military veteran and a Texas Tech University student wrongfully convicted of raping a fellow student in 1985.
Proposition 34 was a California ballot measure that was decided by California voters at the statewide election on November 6, 2012. It sought to repeal Proposition 17, originally passed by voters in 1972, thus abolishing the death penalty in California.
Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer Sr. is an American politician who served in the California State Assembly since 2012. Representing the 59th district from 2012 to 2022 and the 57th district from 2022 to 2024, Jones-Sawyer was a member of the California Legislative Black Caucus and served as chair of the caucus from 2015 to 2016. In 2023, he announced his candidacy for the Los Angeles City Council for the 2024 Los Angeles elections, which he placed 5th out of five candidates in the primary.
The California Western Innocence and Justice Clinic (IJC) is a non-profit based at California Western School of Law (CWSL) in San Diego, California, United States, that provides pro bono representation to individuals who are wrongfully convicted with a goal of securing their release from prison.
Sydney Kai Kamlager-Dove is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for California's 37th congressional district since 2023. A Democrat, she previously served in the California State Senate, representing the 30th district. She has also served in the California State Assembly and as a trustee for the Los Angeles Community College District.
A special election was held on June 6, 2017, to elect the member of the United States House of Representatives for California's 34th congressional district. A special open primary election was held on April 4, 2017.
Michael "Mike" Semanchik is the Executive Director of The Innocence Center (TIC) and former Managing Attorney at the California Innocence Project (CIP). As part of his work with CIP, he has been involved in many cases involving the exoneration of previously convicted prisoners, working closely with the organization's director, Justin Brooks, and also preparing petitions for many of CIP's clients. After working at CIP while still a law student at California Western School of Law, following graduation in 2010 he became an investigator and then a staff attorney there.
Jesse Samuel Gabriel is an American constitutional rights attorney and politician. A member of the Democratic Party, Gabriel represents California's 46th State Assembly district, which includes much of the west San Fernando Valley, including Encino, Tarzana, Woodland Hills, West Hills, Canoga Park, Winnetka, Reseda, Lake Balboa and Van Nuys, in the California State Assembly.
Wiley Randall Robertson is an American politician from Cataula, Georgia. He is a Republican member of the Georgia State Senate representing District 29, elected in 2018. Robertson is a retired law enforcement officer and attended Command College at Columbus State University and the FBI National Academy.
Isaac Gregory Bryan is an American politician serving as a Member of the California State Assembly where he represents the 55th district, which includes much of South Central Los Angeles. Bryan was previously the executive director of the University of California Los Angeles's Black Policy Project, head of the Public Policy Division for the Million Dollar Hoods Project, and served as the Director of Public Policy for the UCLA Ralph J. Bunche Center. From July to November 2023, he served as Assembly Majority Leader.
Lara Bazelon is an American academic and journalist. She is a law professor at the University of San Francisco School of Law where she holds the Barnett Chair in Trial Advocacy and directs the Criminal & Juvenile and Racial Justice Clinics. She is the former director of the Loyola Law School Project for the Innocent in Los Angeles. Her clinical work as a law professor focuses on the exoneration of the wrongfully convicted.
The 2024 California State Assembly election will be held on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, with the primary election being held on March 5, 2024. All of the seats of the California State Assembly will be elected as part of the 2024 California elections.