Arizona man asks President Biden for clemency in wrongful conviction case

PHOENIX (KYMA, KECY) - An Arizona man has submitted a presidential clemency application last month.

According to the Arizona Justice Project (AJP), 48-year-old Joseph Fuentes is currently serving 25 years in prison for a crime he did not commit.

Fuentes was 24-years-old when he was originally sentenced to eight years in prison, back in 2000, for a marijuana offense, AJP says.

But in 2001, AJP says a group of prisoners hatched a murder plot against another prisoner, Jesus Lopez-Rocha, who "had assaulted a teenage family member" of one of the prisoners. Lopez-Rocha was stabbed to death in May of 2001, according to AJP.

AJP says while Fuentes had a "strong alibi and no relatable evidence" tied to him, other prisoners named him as the "organizer of the murder."

As a result, one of the prisoners received a 15-year plea deal for testifying against Fuentes while another prisoner who admitted to their involvement was acquitted of all charges, AJP reports.

But, AJP adds that Fuentes was sentenced to serve "two concurrent life-sentences for first-degree murder and conspiracy to commit murder."

"The criminal justice system failed in the conviction and sentencing of Joseph Fuentes. Joseph was convicted based on a story concocted by other prisoners who were given deals in exchange for their testimony. Joseph became a casualty of a court system that values finality above all else. This injustice can now only be rectified through a presidential commutation. Joseph has spent more of his life behind bars than free. It's time that we right this wrong."

Karen Smith, Senior Litigation Counsel, Arizona Justice Project

Having served 25 years in prison, Fuentes filed the application on November 21, 2024, in the hopes that President Joe Biden will pardon him before the end of his term.

To learn more about Fuentes, click here.