Dupree Glass and Juan Rayford had no criminal history when they were wrongfully convicted of attempted murder. They ended up spending nearly 17 years in prison before they were ultimately released in 2020 after their convictions were vacated by a state appeals court panel, per The Associated Press.
On Thursday, a California judge moved to declare them innocent – bringing an end to a new trial that commenced in October and saw a convicted gang member admitting to being the actual shooter in the 2004 shooting incident.
Per a new California law, the men are entitled to receive almost $900,000 each as compensation from the state; that is $140 for every day they were wrongfully incarcerated.
“I thought about this day for so long. I thought about it when I was locked up for 17 years. I thought about it for my last two years being free. I waited for this day because, you know, I knew I was innocent of every crime they said I committed,” Rayford said.
Glass and Rayford were arrested in connection with the 2004 shooting after a group of teens got into an altercation in Lancaster, Los Angeles. The gunfire resulted in two people sustaining non-serious gunshot wounds. At the time of their arrests, Glass was 17 while Rayford was 18.
Though Glass and Rayford maintained their innocence, they were sentenced to 11 consecutive life sentences after they were found guilty of 11 counts of attempted murder. “That trial never should have been brought in the first place,” defense attorney Annee Della Donna told The Associated Press. “There was no evidence tying them to the shooting. Zero.”