Angel Hernandez Finally Receives His Day in Hampden Superior Court
By Jade Arnold-Scott
Intern, Massachusetts Jobs with Justice
The American constitution states that in all criminal prosecutions, the accused has the right to a speedy and public trial. They have the right to a jury of their impartial peers, or citizens of the immediate area in which the crime was committed. In addition, all accused have the right to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; they have the right to know the witnesses testifying against them, so they may obtain their own witnesses, and they have the right to an attorney. The complete elements of this amendment are not always carried out justly; and the ten year case of Angel Hernandez is a prime example of how this claim of negligence and corruption within the court systems can be proved.
In 2010, Hernandez and his co-defendant Charles Wilhite were convicted of the murder of Alberto Rodriguez. The murder happened in Springfield on October 14, 2008. Wilhite successfully petitioned for a retrial shortly after his conviction. He was retried and found not guilty in 2013. Freedom and an over $1 million settlement for a wrongful conviction was a historic victory for Wilhite. Unfortunately, luck, or a just justice system would not favor Angel Hernandez in the same way. Despite the witnesses in his original trial being convicted of perjury shortly after and clear police misconduct in witness testimony collection by the notoriously corrupt Springfield Police Department, Angel was still expected to carry out this unfair sentence.
Finally in 2017, Angel was granted a retrial, which was pushed farther out, again and again. His original date of Oct. 24, 2018 was moved to Jan. 11, 2019. In July 2019 Hernandez's long time attorney, Linda Thompson, withdrew from the case; and his August 8 trial date was cancelled and turned into a conference for a new lawyer instead. He didn't receive his actual day in court until about a week ago on May 18, 2021. This all happened after a motion to be released on bail was denied by the Hampden Superior court on January 3, 2018.
During the May 2021 retrial, Angel Hernandez was found not guilty! It is a bittersweet win for Springfield residents, and all people of The United States of America. An innocent man is free, but many irreplaceable years of his life were taken from him while the penal system took it's time getting around to serving justice. Hard-fought and delayed justice that should be constitutionally swift is a tainted win.
As a Mass JwJ intern, this issue--along with many other Mass JwJ struggles-- is personal to me, I have a brother serving life in prison with a 1st degree murder charge. The murder was in fact done in self defense, and in the defense of his pregnant girlfriend. There are people who have committed worse crimes, yet they received lesser punishments or they are free. A $2 million cash bail was raised in support of the terrorist Kyle Rittenhouse. He was spotted drinking at Pudgy’s Pub in Wisconsin sporting a “free as f*ck” t-shirt just hours after pleading not guilty to murdering two Black Lives Matter protesters at a rally last summer. It’s nothing short of disgusting.
Donate to Angel Hernandez’s gofundme here: https://gofund.me/8f8954e5
Sources:
https://constitution.congress.gov/constitution/amendment-6/
https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/01/angel_hernandez_awaiting_retri.html
https://www.masslive.com/news/2018/10/judge_says_cops_did_the_right.html
https://notguiltyyet.wordpress.com/2018/02/27/angel-hernandez-2/