I hope that upon receiving this letter you guys at Inside-Outside Alliance are in good health and spirits. I myself am doing o.k., trying to stay strong.

I was recently sentenced for a crime that I did not commit due to the corrupt system of Durham County. My attorney knew months before I was sentenced that I was innocent, but due to the nature of the crime, she had already found me guilty before even looking at the actual evidence. Even after she got the evidence needed to prove my innocence, she did nothing to help me, she filed no motions for dismissal or for anything else that could help my case. What she did do was conspire with the assistant district attorney assigned to my case, and using her position of trust, got me to believe that taking a plea would be the only way to go about my situation, that doing otherwise would result in me getting 2 life sentences without the possibility of ever coming home. I was never given a copy of the S.B.I. lab reports until the day after I signed my plea, where it clearly states that I am to be excluded as the contributor of the D.N.A. that was found and tested. The A.D.A. assigned to my case stated in open court that the results could not be used to determine if I had been the aggressor, when the S.B.I. lab report clearly excludes me. Had an attorney been hired to represent me, the outcome in my case would have been different, but, unfortunately my family was able to provide for me only moral support. I cannot go into too many details of my case, but I do hope that somehow you guys can help me put it out there that the Durham justice system is very corrupt, and hopefully my unfortunate outcome will help others who may be in similar situations, not only in Durham, but in other jails as well. I would really like it if this information gets into the ears of the media to unmask the people behind these unhuman acts.

Thank you,

Gustavo Cardenas