Summary
“The Witness: The Trials of Franky Carrillo” shows the basis of an unfair trial against Frank Carrillo for the murder of Donald Sarpy.
There’s more scandalous information in The Innocence Files Episode 5. First of all, the new jurors were unaware of a mistrial in Franky Carrillo’s first trial, and in both trials, the key evidence was eyewitness testimony. In the first trial, eyewitness testimonies were wholly inconsistent, so the district attorney asked them to get their statements correct for the second trial. Franky Carrillo was charged with the murder of Donald Sarpy.
Franky had very few options left when he was sentenced; his father had died, and he was his only alibi. He lost a direct appeal, and his only option left was to write a letter to Oscar, who was supposedly involved in the crime. We also learn that Oscar was not allowed to be part of the proceedings when he claimed Franky was not part of the murder that night.
In April 2006, Franky Carrillo got a new lawyer named Ellen Eggers — she asked for the Innocence Project’s resources and support, so Linda Starr also looked into Franky’s case. Episode 5 describes how it’s difficult to reverse a conviction due to numerous obstacles.
The main issue is again the eyewitnesses; Ellen reinterviewed them, and four out of six stated that what they said in the trial was not true. Episode 5 details how susceptible eyewitnesses can be, and in this case, even more so, especially as they were asked to serve as eyewitnesses six months later to identify Frank Carrillo.
The real turning point of Episode 5 was when Ellen Eggers spoke to the son of the murdered man, Dameon Sarpy; she described the process of the eyewitness identification and got a new declaration from Dameon that “he could not have seen who pulled the trigger”. The Innocence Files Episode 5 shows how the Sheriff’s department attempted to intervene with the Innocence Project’s efforts – they did not want an enormous lawsuit.
Franky Carrillo submitted an appeal based on an unfair trial, due to an unfair eyewitness, and that he has a good idea of who killed Donald Sarpy.
Franky Carrillo is innocent based on the fact that there was no credible witness who placed him at the scene. Coupled with Scott Turner’s legal deposition against Deputy Ditsch, where he states that Ditsch pressured him into picking a photo, it was clear that Franky was set up.
The District Attorney also realized she may have gotten it wrong when Dameon Sarpy told her he didn’t actually see who was in the car.
The turning point is when they had the judge visit the crime scene, and they re-enacted the shooting in the same conditions and light — even the judge could not identify who was in the car. Even the opposition at the appeal told the judge to set Franky Carrillo free.
The judge frees Franky Carrillo.
Episode 5 highlighted a few more things:
- Dameon Sarpy still wants justice for his father, Donald Sarpy, but it’s up to the Sheriff’s department to reinvestigate.
- Deputy Ditsch still thinks Franky is guilty.
- Franky received a $10.1m settlement. Oscar denies any involvement in the murder of Donald Sarpy.
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