After spending more than 30 years in prison for a murder he did not commit, Humberto Duran finally got apology for being wrongly convicted. Darsha Philips reports for the NBC4 News at 11 p.m. on April 18, 2025.
After spending more than 30 years behind bars for a murder he did not commit, Humberto Duran finally got a formal apology for being wrongly convicted.
Duran, who was released from prison two years ago, was convicted in 1993 for an East Los Angeles murder based on a single eyewitness testimony. He maintained his innocence as the years passed him by and ultimately, the witness recanted their testimony.
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WATCH HERE“It’s big not only for my family, but to show the world that I’m innocent,” said Duran, who was 18 when he was convicted.
The court on Friday declared Duran factually innocent.
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SIGN UP “After a careful review of the facts and analysis of the law, the People determined that Mr. Duran met his legal burden to establish habeas relief on the ground of cumulative error, based on specific instances of ineffective assistance of trial counsel in combination with new evidence of Mr. Duran’s actual innocence, including the recantation by the sole witness and evidence that Mr. Duran was not a member or associate of the gang responsible for the murder,” the court stated.
Duran faced life in prison in connection with the Dec. 18, 1993, shooting death of Albert Gonzalez, who was killed in the driveway of his home. A jury then found Duran guilty of first-degree murder and attempted premeditated murder.
“He has maintained his innocence for 32 years and to just stand before a judge who apologized for this conviction and state unequivocally that Beto is absolutely innocent was really important and really emotional,” said Megan Baca of nonprofit California Innocence Advocates.
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The man admitted that after spending decades in prison, he lost hope for his freedom. So much so that he even expressed his hopelessness to his mother during one of her visits.
“She told me, ‘One day, I was going to get out. I saved you some of your clothes and jackets,’ and I said, ‘I’m never getting out. You might as well just get rid of that,’” Duran said.
Since his release, Duran has been grateful that he’s been able to regain his freedom. He’s felt a slew of emotions upon his release, however, including anger over the time he’s lost out on with his family.
“You are not the only one doing time,” he said. “They are doing time with you, you know?”
Now, his focus is to move forward.
