classes: those who can afford to come out of the justice system unscathed, and those who can’ t afford it and don’ t have the support they need. It’ s the same system with two different outcomes.” And he has a direct message for anyone who might someday serve as a juror:“ Be compassionate, know how to listen, understand that there’ s a life at stake. And apply the law the same way you’ d want it applied to you.”
Following his exoneration, the state of California compensated him with $ 683,300, and a settlement with the City of Los Angeles brought him $ 10.1 million.
Today, Carrillo has built a life from scratch on the rubble of what the system took from him. He has built a professional career and a family with three children. The eldest is 35. The younger two are 12 and 9. He hasn’ t yet told either of them that the same thing could have happened to them. For now, he prefers that they see him for what he is: a story of resilience, not a cautionary tale.“ We go somewhere and people recognize me
People are supposed to go to prison, pay their debt to society, and come home to rebuild their lives. But a lot of people don’ t accept that model. They want to keep judging, keep labeling.” from some program they saw,” he says.“ To them, it’ s something their father survived. Not something that scares them.” And in that, Carrillo finds one of his greatest satisfactions: having emerged from two decades of confinement without becoming someone he didn’ t want to be.“ Prison can destroy your mind and your soul,” he admits.“ It can turn you into someone you don’ t recognize. I feel like I didn’ t let that happen to me.”
Far from resentment, he has turned his story into a tool. He has become involved in causes related to judicial reform and the defense of exonerees, convinced that his case cannot remain merely a personal anecdote, but must serve to change the system that nearly destroyed him.“ There’ s a misconception about how this works,” he says.“ The idea is that people go to prison, pay their debt to society, and come home to rebuild their lives. But a lot of people don’ t accept that model. They want to keep judging, keep labeling.”
Carrillo has spent years working to change that. ●
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