Justice for the Wrongfully Convicted
Ezequiel Apolo-Albino spent some eight years wrongfully convicted for crimes he did not commit against his own daughters. In August of this year, he was found not guilty under the law.
Students in the Civil Rights and Justice Clinic (CRJC) at the University of Washington School of Law played a key role in his trial. The CRJC represents plaintiffs in civil rights lawsuits in federal courts both in and outside of Washington.
In 2009, Apolo-Albino was convicted of sexual abuse allegations made by his two daughters, then just seven and nine years old. At the time the claims were made, the girls were living in foster care and Apolo-Albino had supervised visitation rights.
“Mr. Apolo-Albino was prosecuted and was convicted and went to prison for about seven years for that alleged crime,” said Rachel Nowlin-Sohl, a clinical fellow at UW Law from September 2023 to September 2024. “Because he had a green card, when he got out of prison he went to ICE detention.” He was incarcerated for a total of eight and a half years.
There was no truth behind the accusations. One of the foster parents in charge of the children had ordered Apolo-Albino’s daughters to make these sexual abuse claims through coercion. It came to light years later when the daughters were adopted by another family.
“Eventually, the daughters were adopted into a safe environment and, in therapy and elsewhere, told the truth of what happened – Apolo-Albino is innocent and the foster parent had coerced and manipulated them into the false accusation,” stated David B. Owens, director of the CRJC and an Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Washington. He was involved in preparing the students to participate in the August trial.
In 2016, Apolo-Albino’s conviction was overturned but his life wasn’t the same as before. “Apolo-Albino had little recourse in the aftermath, as suing his defense attorney for malpractice was a long shot,” stated Owens.
Apolo-Albino’s only recourse for justice was through Washington's Wrongly Convicted Person’s Act. The law was passed in 2013 but Apolo-Albino’s trial marks the first jury-trial ever conducted for one of these cases.
“Under this law, if you were convicted and went to prison for a crime that you’re actually innocent of, and you meet a few other requirements, then you’re entitled to a certain amount of compensation for each year you were confined … and a finding that you are actually innocent under the law,” said Nowlin-Sohl.
Nowlin-Sohl had a one-year fellowship at UW Law, working with Professor Owens and students in the clinic on this case. This was her first trial where she wrote motions, delivered the opening statement, conducted direct examination of witnesses, and spoke frequently with Apolo-Albino.
“There were really important decisions that the judge made based on what students wrote,” said Nowlin-Sohl. “The student research and writing that went into those motions had a huge influence on how the trial looked and the result we got for Mr. Apolo-Albino.”
The students were to make the opening statement and question witnesses at trial, but that changed when the trial got pushed from May to August.
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“We were disappointed the trial happened after graduation, but the result was built on years of student work,” said Owens. “In the end, it was a great day, and students from various years were there in support.”
The CRJC commemorates this win for Apolo-Albino and his family. “It was just a healing, transformative event for all of them,” said Nowlin-Sohl.