POV Season 23 Episode 7 Presumed Guilty

The POV season 23 episode 7 is titled "Presumed Guilty". The episode presents a gripping story of injustice and corruption in the Mexican justice system. The documentary follows two lawyers, Antonio Zuniga and Roberto Hernandez, as they fight to free a man named Toño who has been wrongly accused of murder.

Toño, a street vendor, was arrested in 2005 for allegedly killing a young man in a Mexico City neighborhood. The evidence against him was flimsy and unreliable, but the prosecutor and judge on the case were determined to get a conviction. Toño was ultimately found guilty and sentenced to 20 years in prison.

Zuniga and Hernandez, both accomplished defense attorneys, took on Toño's case pro bono and immediately began to uncover a web of lies and corruption. They discovered that the police had coerced witnesses to give false testimony, that the prosecutor had withheld key evidence from the defense, and that the judge had ignored glaring inconsistencies in the case.

Despite their best efforts, however, Toño's appeals were repeatedly denied, and he remained behind bars. Eventually, Zuniga and Hernandez took the unheard-of step of filing a federal petition for Toño's release, arguing that his conviction violated his basic human rights.

The case drew national attention in Mexico, sparking widespread protests and calls for reform. In the end, after years of legal wrangling and political pressure, Toño was finally released from prison in 2010.

"Presumed Guilty" is a powerful and deeply troubling portrait of a justice system gone awry. It exposes the all-too-common abuses of power and corruption that can leave innocent people languishing in jail for years, unable to get a fair trial. But it is also a testament to the resilience and determination of those who are willing to fight for justice, no matter the odds.