Joaquin Ciria spent thirty-two years imprisoned for a murder he didn’t commit. And while there is plenty of blame to go around since police pressured an accomplice to implicate Ciria and prosecutors offered an accomplice immunity to testify against Ciria, at least part of the reason he lost three decades of his life was that his defense attorney did not provide effective assistance of counsel.
So, as you celebrate the Fourth of July, just remember that the Declaration of Independence and the American Revolution were not an ending point, but a beginning.
