“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." — Martin Luther King, Jr.
About Us
About Shawn's Legal Case
In 2003, a homeless, orphaned teenager named Shawn Rodriguez participated in a robbery with another homeless teen, Anna Rugg. Unbeknownst to Shawn, Anna entrapped/kidnapped her boyfriend and intended to kill him. Despite no one being murdered or physically injured, Shawn was held culpable for Anna’s crimes of kidnapping and "conspiracy" to commit murder simply because he agreed to participate in the robbery.
Shawn has been in prison for over 21 years for participating in an $80 robbery orchestrated by Anna. Although he is guilty of the robbery, Shawn was made culpable for a kidnapping he did not know about and was not present for. He received a 7-to-life sentence for this. Additionally, Shawn was held culpable for Anna’s intent to kill, even though he had no such intent himself, and received a 25-to-life sentence for that.
At the time, the Natural & Probable Consequences Doctrine was legal, allowing participants in felonies to be held responsible for crimes committed by others involved. This doctrine has since been abolished in California over 5 years ago, but Shawn remains imprisoned. Anna has been eligible for parole since 2011, while Shawn, who was at most an aider and abettor in the robbery, received more than three times her punishment.
For a detailed analysis of Shawn’s case based on the trial transcript, which demonstrates that he was wrongfully held culpable for crimes he did not commit, please refer to the following link:
American Injustice: Shawn Rodriguez’ Fight for Freedom (wsimg.com)
The Natural and Probable Consequences Doctrine enabled this injustice. Shawn’s jury members later expressed feeling tricked into their decisions by the prosecution and criticized the District Attorney’s aggressive approach in this case.
To make this an even more glaring case of injustice, the only victim, Nicholas Hamman, has repeatedly recanted his testimony, admitting to perjury during the trial and severely overstating the threat he faced. Around 2015, the victim began admitting to his perjury, which led to Shawn’s life sentence. Despite Hamman's efforts to bring this to the authorities' attention, the District Attorney pressured the victim to stay silent. When Shawn attempted to challenge his conviction, his legal representation failed to properly address the victim's confession, leading to another missed opportunity for justice. This is also known as ineffective assistance of legal counsel.
Since Shawn's conviction, laws have changed, making the Natural & Probable Consequences Doctrine illegal. However, Shawn remains incarcerated despite these changes. He is eligible for parole in 2025, but there are concerns that politics and retaliation from prison staff might hinder his release.
Please show your support by signing our change.org petition at the link above which says SIGN HERE.
Shawn was denied a fair trial, which is his constitutional right. His confession was edited to misrepresent the truth, and exculpatory evidence was missing or not presented. Witnesses who could have testified in his defense were intimidated into silence. We are pretty sure that the prosecuting Deputy District Attorney, William Marchi, was later fired or forced to resign over his repeated misconduct.
Shawn has already lost his twenties and thirties due to the corruption and brokenness of our criminal "justice" system. It's time to give him the chance to rebuild his life, work towards retirement, own a home, and have a family. Twenty one years in prison is more than enough for what he did as an orphaned teenager in 2003.