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The Case of Rafael Madrigal
📻 Episode #74
🎙️ Hosted by Jason Flom
📅 Oct 09, 2018
About This Episode
On July 5, 2000, Ricardo Aguilera was shot and wounded in a gang related drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California. Several witnesses identified 25-year-old Rafael Madrigal Jr. in a photo lineup as either the shooter or driver of the car involved. Those witnesses testified against Rafael at trial.
The Case
On July 5, 2000, Ricardo Aguilera was shot and wounded in a gang related drive-by shooting in Los Angeles, California. Several witnesses identified 25-year-old Rafael Madrigal Jr. in a photo lineup as either the shooter or driver of the car involved. Those witnesses testified against Rafael at trial.
Rafael, who maintained his innocence throughout the ordeal, had been at work at Proactive Packaging, a 50-minute drive away, at the time of the shooting. A co-worker could have confirmed his alibi, and his boss could have testified that he was certain Madrigal was at work because he was the only one who knew how to operate one of the machines in the production line. But Rafael’s defense attorney only called a single co-worker to the stand at the trial, and did not present a recording of Rafael’s co-defendant admitting that Rafael was not involved.
On January 18, 2002, a jury convicted Rafael of attempted murder and he was sentenced to 53 years to life in prison.
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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.
00:05:56“Speaker 4: witnesses and the victim, and they all started with one Speaker 4: of the witnesses bid me that I resemble the shooter. Speaker 1: Okay, wait a minute now, first of all, wait, wait, Speaker 1: let's go back. Let's go back for a second. So, Raphael, Speaker 1: you were sixteen when your picture was taken.”
00:22:43“Speaker 1: but but still you knew you were innocent. So what Speaker 1: was your like going in to the court room finally Speaker 1: after all these years or two and a half years, Speaker 1: three years? Did you feel like you were going to Speaker 1: be exonerated? Or you were you like, oh, you know”
00:39:15“Speaker 1: how to get you this money and how to help Speaker 1: you manage it once you do get it. That would Speaker 1: be the job of that board. If I was running it, Speaker 1: I would say, Okay, let's make sure that not only Speaker 1: are you going to get it, but you're going to”
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Also on the podcast: #444 Rafael Martinez · #562 Rafael Madrigal