Man whose murder conviction was dismissed is freed from prison
The California Innocence Project argued that Reggie Cole’s conviction in a 1994 slaying stemmed from fabricated evidence. On Sunday, he celebrated his release with relatives in Los Angeles.
The California Innocence Project argued that Reggie Cole’s conviction in a 1994 slaying stemmed from fabricated evidence. On Sunday, he celebrated his release with relatives in Los Angeles.
Sixteen years after the gunshot slaying he insists he didn’t commit, and 10 years after the fatal prison stabbing he says he was forced to commit, Reggie Cole stepped out of prison this weekend a free man.
Cole, 35, was released Saturday from Calipatria State Prison in Imperial County, into the arms of family and lawyers who fought for his release.
“Just a little over 24 hours ago I was sitting in a cell, and now I’m here hugging my family,” a jubilant Cole said Sunday night from his sister’s home in Los Angeles. “The traffic and the phones — it’s a completely different world here. In solitary, you’re just looking at a wall.”
Cole was convicted of murder in the 1994 slaying of Felipe Gonzales Angeles, who died in a botched robbery attempt at an apartment in South Los Angeles. While serving time at Calipatria in 2000, Cole stabbed to death an inmate, Eddie Clark, in what he said was self-defense.
The California Innocence Project argued that his conviction in the 1994 slaying stemmed from fabricated evidence, and prosecutors threw out the case in July even as detectives insisted he was guilty. He remained in prison until this week, serving time on a manslaughter conviction for the prison stabbing.
After his release, his lawyers took him to the International House of Pancakes in El Centro. “Steak and eggs, with lots of A1 sauce,” Cole said.
Cole said he wanted to get his high-school equivalency degree and take up the law. “I was helping them [lawyers] with my case and learned a lot, and I believe I can help somebody.”
Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law in San Diego, said Cole was doing “amazingly well.”
“I’ve had 10 clients walk out of prison, and he’s doing as well as I’ve ever seen,” he said. “They all go through a period of time where they just can’t believe they’re out.”
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