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The Case of James Soto
📻 Episode #454
🎙️ Hosted by Lauren Bright Pacheco
📅 Jun 10, 2024
About This Episode
When he was just 20 years old, an act of violence changed James “Jimmy” Soto’s life forever. Despite no physical evidence and numerous alibi witnesses, Jimmy and his cousin David were convicted of a 1981 double homicide in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, IL. They would end up serving 42 years in prison, the…
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
When he was just 20 years old, an act of violence changed James “Jimmy” Soto’s life forever. Despite no physical evidence and numerous alibi witnesses, Jimmy and his cousin David were convicted of a 1981 double homicide in the Little Village neighborhood of Chicago, IL. They would end up serving 42 years in prison, the longest served wrongful conviction sentences in Illinois history. While incarcerated, Jimmy earned a bachelor’s degree and became a regular in the law library. He helped dozens of his fellow inmates with their legal cases, including his cellmate, Robert Almodovar. Jimmy and Robert formed a lifelong friendship. They helped each other survive prison — and now that they are both exonerated, they’re helping each other adjust to life on the outside.
https://www.gofundme.com/f/life-after-42-yrs-of-wrongful-imprisonment https://paroleillinois.org/
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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.
00:06:23“Speaker 2: of the same thing that he was involved in to Speaker 2: seek some type of revenge. But it wasn't like I Speaker 2: was out looking for revenge. It was just a way Speaker 2: in his honor that I thought, I need to be Speaker 2: a part of this, I need to do something. Yeah.”
00:23:41“Speaker 2: Prisons in the eighties and early nineties was in Illinois Speaker 2: were particularly violent. State Bill was very violent. I mean Speaker 2: murders occurring there. There was a lot of things that, Speaker 2: you know, a lot of stabbings, a lot of assaults. Speaker 1: That's a question that I have for you because even”
00:38:51“Speaker 3: I was ac static coming home, of course, being reunited Speaker 3: with my daughter and my family, you know. Speaker 1: So Robert take me to after you get out, how Speaker 1: does your friendship change, how do you continue staying in touch? Speaker 1: And do you have almost survivors guilt? Do you feel”
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← #453 Jennifer McMullan at the 2024 Innocence Conference #455 Darrell Siggers at the 2024 Innocence Conference →
Also on the podcast: #142 Josh Dubin on James Dailey · #148 James Davis · #205 James Davis