Murder in Illinois

#456 Lauren Bright Pacheco with Frank Benitez


Listen Later

On April 28th, 1989, 18-year-old Francisco Benitez was having a normal day. He picked up his paycheck, got a haircut, then went to his friend’s house to watch Beetlejuice on HBO. That same night two teenage boys were shot and killed. An eyewitness said as the shooter ran from the scene, she noticed that he had a fresh haircut. Despite no other similarities between Frank and her description of the shooter, not to mention no physical evidence, Frank was ultimately convicted of the crimes and sentenced to life without parole.

The prison environment was violent and dangerous, Frank says he often wondered “is this the day that I’m going to die in prison?” But his mother Betty was steadfast in her love and her belief in Frank’s innocence. She told him over and over to never give up, even after 34 years, to keep believing that a brighter day is coming.

To learn more and get involved, visit:

Francisco Benitez Go Fund Me: https://www.gofundme.com/f/innocent-man-exonerated-after-34-years

University of Chicago Law School Exoneration Project: https://www.law.uchicago.edu/clinics/exoneration

Loevy & Loevy Civil Rights Law Firm: https://www.loevy.com/ 

Wrongful Conviction with Lauren Bright Pacheco is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1. 

See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Murder in IllinoisBy iHeartPodcasts

  • 3
  • 3
  • 3
  • 3
  • 3

3

2,663 ratings


More shows like Murder in Illinois

View all
Wrongful Conviction by Lava for Good Podcasts

Wrongful Conviction

5,603 Listeners

The Best of Coast to Coast AM by iHeartPodcasts and Coast to Coast AM

The Best of Coast to Coast AM

2,527 Listeners

Atlanta Monster by iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV

Atlanta Monster

20,400 Listeners

Hell and Gone by iHeartPodcasts

Hell and Gone

7,460 Listeners

America's Crime Lab by iHeartPodcasts and Kaleidoscope

America's Crime Lab

3,470 Listeners

Monster: The Zodiac Killer by iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV

Monster: The Zodiac Killer

966 Listeners

Murder in Miami by iHeartPodcasts

Murder in Miami

3,856 Listeners

The Binge Cases: Doctor's Orders by Sony Music Entertainment

The Binge Cases: Doctor's Orders

4,081 Listeners

Astray by iHeartPodcasts

Astray

784 Listeners

Camp Hell: Anneewakee by iHeartPodcasts

Camp Hell: Anneewakee

1,015 Listeners

After the Uprising by iHeartPodcasts

After the Uprising

128 Listeners

The Binge Crimes: The Doodler by Sony Music Entertainment

The Binge Crimes: The Doodler

3,040 Listeners

The Dougherty Gang by iHeartPodcasts

The Dougherty Gang

337 Listeners

The Real Killer by iHeartPodcasts and AYR Media

The Real Killer

1,006 Listeners

What Happened to Talina Zar by iHeartPodcasts

What Happened to Talina Zar

1,783 Listeners

Sympathy Pains by iHeartPodcasts

Sympathy Pains

1,570 Listeners

True Crime Reality by iHeartPodcasts

True Crime Reality

180 Listeners

The Turning: The Sisters Who Left by iHeartPodcasts and Rococo Punch

The Turning: The Sisters Who Left

130 Listeners

Murder in Oregon by iHeartPodcasts

Murder in Oregon

105 Listeners

The Piketon Massacre by iHeartPodcasts

The Piketon Massacre

262 Listeners

True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here by iHeartPodcasts

True Crime Story: It Couldn't Happen Here

136 Listeners

Burden of Guilt by iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

Burden of Guilt

1,007 Listeners

Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned by iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

Creating a Con: The Story of Bitconned

106 Listeners

Hookergate: Criminals and Libertines in the South by iHeartPodcasts

Hookergate: Criminals and Libertines in the South

369 Listeners

There and Gone: South Street by iHeartPodcasts

There and Gone: South Street

505 Listeners

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2 by iHeartPodcasts

Law & Order: Criminal Justice System - Season 1 & Season 2

244 Listeners

American Homicide by iHeartPodcasts and Glass Podcasts

American Homicide

253 Listeners

Blink | Jake Haendel's Story by Sony Music, Corinne Vien, Jacob Haendel

Blink | Jake Haendel's Story

6,654 Listeners

Monster: BTK by iHeartPodcasts and Tenderfoot TV

Monster: BTK

398 Listeners

Murder on Songbird Road by iHeartPodcasts

Murder on Songbird Road

636 Listeners

Crook County by Tenderfoot TV and iHeartPodcasts

Crook County

920 Listeners

Camp Shame by iHeartPodcasts

Camp Shame

361 Listeners