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The Case of Frank Benitez
📻 Episode #456
🎙️ Hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco
📅 Jun 17, 2024
About This Episode
On April 28th, 1989, 18-year-old Francisco Benitez was having a normal day. He picked up his paycheck, got a haircut, then went to his friend’s house to watch Beetlejuice on HBO. That same night two teenage boys were shot and killed. An eyewitness said as the shooter ran from the scene, she noticed that he…
Case status as carried in this site's original 2026 profiles. Independent record verification is rolling out episode by episode — statuses are being re-checked against court and registry sources and date-stamped as verified.
The Case
On April 28th, 1989, 18-year-old Francisco Benitez was having a normal day. He picked up his paycheck, got a haircut, then went to his friend’s house to watch Beetlejuice on HBO. That same night two teenage boys were shot and killed. An eyewitness said as the shooter ran from the scene, she noticed that he had a fresh haircut. Despite no other similarities between Frank and her description of the shooter, not to mention no physical evidence, Frank was ultimately convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life without parole.
The prison environment was violent and dangerous, Frank says he often wondered “is this the day that I’m going to die in prison?” But his mother Betty was steadfast in her love and her belief in Frank’s innocence. She told him over and over to never give up, even after 34 years, to keep believing that a brighter day is coming.
Francisco Benitez Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/innocent-man-exonerated-after-34-years
University of Chicago Law School Exoneration Project: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/exoneration
Loevy & Loevy Civil Rights Law Firm: https://www.loevy.com/
We have worked hard to ensure that all facts reported in this show are accurate. The views and opinions expressed by the individuals featured in this show are their own and do not necessarily reflect those of Lava for Good.
In Their Own Words — transcript excerpts
Short excerpts from the episode's official published transcript, with timestamps — listen from these moments, or read the full transcript via the podcast's own platforms.
00:04:19“Speaker 3: hang out with her daughter. You know, good people to Speaker 3: be around. And later on that night one of my friends, Speaker 3: his sister, came by and said, hey, be careful, there Speaker 3: was just a shooting. We just heard about a shooting. Speaker 3: We didn't know there was a murder or anything like that.”
00:17:59“Speaker 3: in a place where I know I don't belong, so Speaker 3: I mean I had to act like I was kind Speaker 3: of tough, and I'm not really tough. It's just every Speaker 3: day surrounded by people that probably did what they're locked Speaker 3: up for, and mostly murderers. I mean, back then there”
00:33:46“Speaker 1: So what were the darkest moments for both of you Speaker 1: during that time? Because it had to be like there Speaker 1: were these little glimmers of light in the distance that Speaker 1: maybe this may be that right. Speaker 2: It was just never giving up. You really have to”
Listen to the Episode
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← #455 Darrell Siggers at the 2024 Innocence Conference #457 Robert Almodovar at the 2024 Innocence Conference →
Also on the podcast: #555 Frank Gable