David Diaz is currently in prison serving a 37 year-to-life sentence for a shooting that happened in 1998 in Los Angeles county. The victim of this shooting has stated that David is innocent and not the person who shot him and the key witness has confessed to "randomly" accusing David under police pressure.
David was just 19 years old when an LAPD squad forced their way into his home and arrested him for attempted murder. In court, the police and prosecutor alleged that David approached a man named Remberto Preciado, asked him what street gang he belonged to, and shot him in the leg.
At the time the shooting happened, David was at the movies with his girlfriend and family. He could not have committed this crime. But the jury was persuaded by the prosecutor's case and ultimately convicted David, resulting in his current life sentence.
David is now 39-years-old and has been in prison for 20 years. To date, three key witnesses in the case and the shooting victim, have all declared that David is innocent and that they only selected David because they were pressured by police to do so.
Despite evidence of his innocence, David remains in prison with his sentence. He won’t be released until he is 57 years old, in 2035. California Governor Jerry Brown must step in to right this wrong. He has power and authority to release David through the commutation process.
David has not sat idle in prison all these years. He has completed numerous programs and correspondence courses including paralegal studies and bible studies. He is currently undergoing college classes to obtain his Associates Degree and is enrolled in a business entrepreneur class. He has held many prison jobs and is a peer mentor helping other prisoners with behavioral intervention, anger management,family relations, and life skills.
I have known David since 1996. Last month, David proposed to me and we will be getting married in May. So many people want David free — including the victim Remberto — and we feel David's case is a perfect candidate for clemency. In 2015, we requested a commutation from Governor Brown based on David's innocence and the unusual length of sentence he received on gun enhancements (28 years-to-life), but to date, no action or response has been given.
Please sign this petition to correct the injustice that occurred with David. We thank you for your support.
