Mexico Supreme Court frees man after 23 years in jail

 

 The Mexican Supreme Court has ordered the release of Alfonso Martin del Campo Dodd, a Mexican-American who was jailed in 1992 for the murder of his sister and brother-in-law.

The court ruled that Mr Martin del Campo's confession had been extracted under torture and that there was no other evidence against him.
Mr Martin del Campo said police had placed a plastic bag over his head to make him confess to the double murder.
He is expected to be freed shortly.
Brutal killing In a four-to-one ruling the judges said Mr Martin del Campo, who holds both US and Mexican citizenship, should be freed "in light of the proof that torture was used to obtain his confession in the two crimes, without there being any incriminatory evidence".
Patricia Martin del Campo and her husband Gerardo Zamudio Aldaba were found murdered in their bed in their home in Mexico City in 1992.
They had been stabbed more than 60 times.
Mr Martin del Campo, who lived with the couple, was interrogated by judicial police in the basement of a Mexico City police station.
One of the officers later said he had placed a plastic bag over Mr del Campo's head and had beaten him.
Under torture, Mr Martin del Campo confessed, but later recanted.
There was no other evidence linking him to the crime, but he was nevertheless sentenced to 50 years in prison.