Justice for Thomas Aranda — Jailed Since Age 16, the DNA Clears Him
The Issue
Thomas Aranda has spent his entire adult life — and most of his childhood — behind bars.
He was 16 years old when he was locked up in April 2008. He is 35 today. He has never been an adult in the free world. Not once. He went in a child, and if this injustice is not corrected, he will have missed his entire youth, his twenties, and his thirties.
The DNA does not connect him to the crime.
This is the heart of it, and it is simple:
1. His DNA was not found on the primary evidence. Independent DNA expert Dr. Michael J. Spence reviewed the complete forensic record and signed a sworn affidavit concluding the results "substantially exonerated" Thomas.
2. Expert forensic SANE nurse Rachel Fischer, who is a prosecutorial expert, has concluded with independent forensic DNA expert Dr. Michael J. Spence, after reviewing all of the state's evidence, that in fact the results "substantially exonerated" Thomas.
He was a child who was pressured into a plea.
Thomas spent well over a year in solitary confinement in an adult county jail as a juvenile — no TV, no radio, nobody to talk to for months at a time. In his own words: "It was torture." At 18, he entered a guilty plea. The victim described the rapist as 5'8" with a medium build — a description that does not match Thomas who at the time of the arrest was 6' tall 210lbs and a muscular build.
He has spent 18 years becoming someone worth freeing.
- 10+ years without a single infraction
- Earned his GED
- Ordained as a minister (2020)
- Certified beekeeper
- Trained as a peer-support counselor
- Organized Christmas drives for kids, food handouts for people experiencing homelessness, and music therapy for at-risk youth
At his resentencing in June 2026, the judge acknowledged Thomas's "substantial improvement" — then sentenced him to a minimum of 304 months with a maximum of life, largely because Thomas maintains his innocence of the charge the DNA says he did not commit. He is being punished for refusing to confess to something the science proves he didn't do.
What we are asking:
We, the undersigned, call on the Governor of Washington to review the case of Thomas Aranda and grant pardon or the Attorney General to support a new trial where the DNA evidence can finally be fully heard. A man who went in as a 16-year-old child, whom the forensic evidence does not connect to the crime, should not spend his life in prison for it.
Read the evidence yourself:
- Independent DNA expert's sworn affidavit (Dr. Michael J. Spence): https://justiceforthomasaranda.com/assets/spence-affidavit-redacted.pdf
- Crime lab analyst's own case recap (R. Fischer): https://justiceforthomasaranda.com/assets/fischer-wsp-recap.pdf
- Full case details: https://justiceforthomasaranda.com
Support his legal fund: https://www.givesendgo.com/justice-for-thomas-aranda
Thomas said it best at his resentencing: "I've never been an adult in the free world ever."
Help give him the chance to become one.
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The Issue
Thomas Aranda has spent his entire adult life — and most of his childhood — behind bars.
He was 16 years old when he was locked up in April 2008. He is 35 today. He has never been an adult in the free world. Not once. He went in a child, and if this injustice is not corrected, he will have missed his entire youth, his twenties, and his thirties.
The DNA does not connect him to the crime.
This is the heart of it, and it is simple:
1. His DNA was not found on the primary evidence. Independent DNA expert Dr. Michael J. Spence reviewed the complete forensic record and signed a sworn affidavit concluding the results "substantially exonerated" Thomas.
2. Expert forensic SANE nurse Rachel Fischer, who is a prosecutorial expert, has concluded with independent forensic DNA expert Dr. Michael J. Spence, after reviewing all of the state's evidence, that in fact the results "substantially exonerated" Thomas.
He was a child who was pressured into a plea.
Thomas spent well over a year in solitary confinement in an adult county jail as a juvenile — no TV, no radio, nobody to talk to for months at a time. In his own words: "It was torture." At 18, he entered a guilty plea. The victim described the rapist as 5'8" with a medium build — a description that does not match Thomas who at the time of the arrest was 6' tall 210lbs and a muscular build.
He has spent 18 years becoming someone worth freeing.
- 10+ years without a single infraction
- Earned his GED
- Ordained as a minister (2020)
- Certified beekeeper
- Trained as a peer-support counselor
- Organized Christmas drives for kids, food handouts for people experiencing homelessness, and music therapy for at-risk youth
At his resentencing in June 2026, the judge acknowledged Thomas's "substantial improvement" — then sentenced him to a minimum of 304 months with a maximum of life, largely because Thomas maintains his innocence of the charge the DNA says he did not commit. He is being punished for refusing to confess to something the science proves he didn't do.
What we are asking:
We, the undersigned, call on the Governor of Washington to review the case of Thomas Aranda and grant pardon or the Attorney General to support a new trial where the DNA evidence can finally be fully heard. A man who went in as a 16-year-old child, whom the forensic evidence does not connect to the crime, should not spend his life in prison for it.
Read the evidence yourself:
- Independent DNA expert's sworn affidavit (Dr. Michael J. Spence): https://justiceforthomasaranda.com/assets/spence-affidavit-redacted.pdf
- Crime lab analyst's own case recap (R. Fischer): https://justiceforthomasaranda.com/assets/fischer-wsp-recap.pdf
- Full case details: https://justiceforthomasaranda.com
Support his legal fund: https://www.givesendgo.com/justice-for-thomas-aranda
Thomas said it best at his resentencing: "I've never been an adult in the free world ever."
Help give him the chance to become one.
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Petition created on October 14, 2026