Crime & Law

Cousins Who Spent 4 Decades in Prison on Wrongful Conviction Granted Certificates of Innocence

Jimmy Soto, who spent four decades behind bars for a double homicide he didn’t commit, has officially received his certificate of innocence, more than a year after Cook County prosecutors dismissed all charges against him.

Soto appeared at the Leighton Criminal Court Building Wednesday where he was issued the certificate signifying his innocence in the fatal 1981 shooting that landed him and his cousin, David Ayala, behind bars for 42 years.

“It feels (like) a sense of relief, but it’s been too long coming. It should have happened a long time ago,” Soto said at the courthouse. “It’s kind of hard going into the very courtrooms where Dave and I received an injustice to try and get some semblance of justice.”

Ayala also received his innocence certificate Wednesday. Those four decades spent in prison mark the longest wrongful conviction sentences in Illinois history.

“This is clear proof or evidence of what we’ve been saying for over 42 years,” Ayala said. “It’s a great day.”

Lauren Myerscough-Mueller, an attorney with the Exoneration Project who represents the cousins, said the judge who granted the certificates Wednesday noted there was “no evidence to the contrary of their innocence.”

“It really always did, but it took 42 years to get here,” she said. “Never should have taken this long, but we’re just so thrilled that they are here.”

In addition to seeking his innocence certificate, Soto also filed a federal civil rights lawsuit in October 2024 against dozens of Chicago police officers, three Cook County assistant state’s attorneys, the city of Chicago and Cook County. That case remains pending.

The cousins were convicted and sentenced to life in prison for the August 1981 murders of teens Julie Limas and Hector Valeriano, who were fatally shot in Piotrowski Park on Chicago’s Southwest Side.

According to Soto’s lawsuit, there was no physical evidence tying the men to the shooting, and Soto’s conviction was based solely on the “demonstrably false” testimony of another man whose “fabricated story” had come at the direction of police.

Soto claimed police built an “entirely false case” against him by fabricating evidence and suppressing exculpatory evidence Soto could have used in his defense at trial.

While serving his sentence, Soto earned a bachelor’s degree from Northwestern University. He has also been working to become an attorney himself.

“We’re just gonna keep living our lives,” Ayala said, “trying to make the world better.”

Brandis Friedman contributed to this report.

---