Convicted Three Times. The Third Time, DNA Had Already Cleared Him.

In 1992, 11-year-old Holly Staker was murdered while babysitting in Waukegan, Illinois. Ten weeks later, police focused on 19-year-old Juan Rivera, a former special education student who was wearing an electronic ankle monitor that showed he never left home that night. After four days of interrogation and a psychotic episode in a padded cell, Juan signed a confession typed by investigators. It got key facts of the crime wrong. He was convicted anyway. Then convicted again. And in 2009, a third jury found him guilty, four years after DNA testing had already excluded him. This is the story of a confession that outweighed science, a pair of shoes that weren't even on sale when the murder happened, and a nearly 20-year fight that ended with one of the largest wrongful conviction settlements in American history. The real killer has never been identified. ⏱️ CHAPTERS 0:00 Convicted after DNA cleared him 0:15 The night on Hickory Street 1:23 Who they were 5:30 The party that never happened 8:00 Four days in the interrogation room 13:00 The shoes that weren't his yet 16:00 Three trials, one DNA test 22:00 The third trial 25:00 Freedom, and the killer still out there 📚 SOURCES National Registry of Exonerations: https://exonerationregistry.org/cases... Center on Wrongful Convictions, Northwestern: https://cwc.law.northwestern.edu/free... ABC7 Chicago: https://abc7chicago.com/juan-rivera-w... ABA Journal: https://www.abajournal.com/news/artic... This video is based on court records and public reporting. Juan Rivera was fully exonerated in 2012 and received a certificate of innocence from the State of Illinois. Holly Staker's murder remains unsolved. If you have information about the case, contact the Waukegan Police Department. 🔔 Subscribe for more true stories of wrongful convictions and the fights to overturn them.