PRESS RELEASE: LISA POLANSKY AS LEAD COUNSEL FOR YOUNG MAN WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AT AGE 15 RELEASED AFTER 14 YEARS IN PRISON

Denver, Colo. – Lorenzo Montoya was released from prison June 16, 2014 after reaching a plea deal days before a scheduled hearing that would have revealed significant Constitutional flaws in his conviction and new evidence casting serious doubt on his guilt.  In January 2000, then fourteen-year-old Montoya was one of three Denver teens arrested and charged for alleged involvement in the brutal murder of a north Denver schoolteacher. Mr. Montoya, later convicted of felony murder and other charges, was sentenced to mandatory life without parole.

Mr. Montoya, now represented by lawyers from the Colorado non-profit Center for Juvenile Justice, a team of court appointed counsel, and a team of pro bono lawyers and paralegals from the law firm Cooley LLP, filed a petition in June 2013 in Denver District Court challenging his convictions. The challenge was based on egregious Constitutional violations, including ineffective assistance of counsel and incompetence to stand trial, and new evidence, including DNA.

Montoya’s new counsel, Lisa A. Polansky, Elizabeth Espinosa Krupa, and Peter J. Sauer, also succeeded in obtaining new DNA testing that produced powerful evidence of Mr. Montoya’s innocence. Additional new evidence included Montoya’s co-defendant, Nick Martinez, telling defense investigator, Gina Brovege, that Mr. Montoya had nothing to do with the brutal crime. In lieu of a hearing on Mr. Montoya’s claims or a new trial, the Denver District Attorney offered to dismiss all of the charges against Mr. Montoya and release him immediately in exchange for a guilty plea to accessory after the fact. The factual basis for this plea is that Mr. Montoya rode in a car stolen from the victim and did not reveal what he heard about the murder. After 14 years behind bars, including many in solitary confinement, Mr. Montoya pled guilty and was given a time-served sentence.

By Polansky Law Firm | Published June 16, 2014 | Posted in Uncategorized | Comments Off on PRESS RELEASE: LISA POLANSKY AS LEAD COUNSEL FOR YOUNG MAN WRONGFULLY CONVICTED AT AGE 15 RELEASED AFTER 14 YEARS IN PRISON