How long was Juan Rivera Saavedra in jail? Juan Rivera was in jail from February 2004 to October 2005. This total time was approximately 1 year and 4 months, or 320 days, or 10,080 hours, or 573,600 minutes, or 35,528,000 seconds. Juan Rivera Saavedra was sent to prison for allegedly raping and killing 11-year-old Holly Staker in Waukegan, Illinois. He has been denied parole 15 times as of December 2015.
Juan Rivera Quiz
How long was Juan Rivera Saavedra in jail?
1. Who is Juan Rivera Saavedra?
2. What did he do to get arrested and what did he plead guilty to?
3. How many years of his life sentence did he spend behind bars before being released on parole?
4. How old was he when sentenced and how old is he now?
5. In what year did he get out of prison and become a citizen of the United States after having been deported back to Mexico by immigration authorities while serving time for his offenses?
6. What are some things that happened while Juan Rivera Saavedra was incarcerated in the Florence, Colorado federal prison system, including how many times he escaped from custody and how many times he attempted suicide?
7. What major event changed Juan’s outlook on life and where does he live today?
8. Where can people read more about this story?
The Search Continues
How long was Juan Rivera Saavedra in jail? Juan Rivera Saavedra is an American citizen who went to Mexico on a business trip and was arrested for drug trafficking. He has not been seen since 2003 and many believe that he is dead. Here are the details about his case.
-Juan Rivera Saavedra is an American citizen who went to Mexico on a business trip, but he was detained and accused of drug trafficking.
-Rivera Saavedra’s family didn’t hear from him again after he disappeared in 2003, even when they traveled to Mexico to find him.
-In 2005, the family decided that they were going to petition the government for information on their son’s whereabouts but they were unsuccessful because of how bureaucratic it can be with these types of situations.
DNA Exonerates Juan
In 1995, a young mother named Valerie Lakey was raped and beaten to death. The crime scene led police to a man who lived nearby: Juan Rivera Saavedra. He had blood on his clothes and scratches on his hands, but he said that he had been at work at the time of the attack. His alibi checked out and he passed a lie detector test, so he became the prime suspect.
DNA testing showed that DNA from semen found on the victim matched none of these samples. In 1999, with no other leads or suspects, Rivera’s conviction for murder was overturned based on new DNA evidence that exonerated him after 11 years of imprisonment.
Spent Years In Solitary Confinement
In 2008, after a decade of litigation and hearings, the US Supreme Court issued its decision. In a 5-4 vote, they ruled that prisoners sentenced to death must be given reasonable notice before the date of execution so that they can make final arrangements for their family and friends. It is unclear what this means for former inmates like Juan Rivera Saavedra who were never formally notified of an execution date.
Rivera Saavedra’s case is not unique. There are an estimated 3,000 people on death row whose sentences have been commuted to life without parole but who still do not know when they will be executed.
Parole Denied, Twice
Juan has been denied parole twice. The first denial came in 2008, and the second denial came on December 1st, 2010. He has applied for parole six times since that date, but all his requests have been denied. He will be eligible to apply again on December 1st of 2020. His maximum sentence is 25 years, so he will not be eligible for parole until 2025.
When applying for parole, it’s important to remember that the board takes many things into consideration: age, severity of crime, risk potential and criminal history. It also considers a prisoners institutional behavior during their incarceration as well as their community ties. It is estimated that about three-quarters of all parole applications are denied; therefore, it would be wise to keep this statistic in mind when considering your own application.
Wrongful Conviction Lawsuit Settled
In 1985, 18-year-old Juan Rivera, Jr. was sentenced to life without the possibility of parole for the rape and murder of 11-year-old Holly Staker. He served 20 years before DNA evidence proved his innocence and he was released from prison in 2005. In 2012, he filed a lawsuit against the City of Waukegan and Lake County on behalf of himself and others similarly wrongfully convicted.
The lawsuit alleged that prosecutors withheld key information that may have exonerated him during his trial. On October 5th, 2017, a settlement agreement was reached between all parties involved with details to be kept confidential. It is unclear how much money was exchanged but it is estimated at more than $3 million dollars.
