At age 17, George Toca was wrongfully arrested (and later convicted) of the April 23, 1984 murder of Eric Batiste.
Mr. Toca was wrongfully convicted on April 16, 1985, based on the misidentification by two eyewitnesses.
Mr. Toca did not remotely resemble the description of the shooter given by two witnesses. The witnesses described the shooter as 5 feet 10 inches to 6 feet tall and weighing 140 lbs. Mr. Toca was 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighed less than 125 lbs. - at least five inches shorter and 25 pounds smaller than the gunman the witnesses described. Also missing from the description was Mr. Toca's very prominent gold teeth.
His attorney at trial had little information available to him so he could not present a full defense for George or subject the State%u2019s case to serious scrutiny and, as a result, the jury mistakenly convicted an innocent man.
Mr. Batiste%u2019s family has always firmly believed that the wrong man was convicted for his death and has called on you to free Mr. Toca.
While Mr. Toca has spent the last 25 years in prison, the actual killer has been free.
Evidence gathered by Innocence Project New Orleans since 2003 shows George Toca is innocent, and points to another man who does match the descriptions given of the shooter, as the actual killer. This man has been consistently identified by multiple witnesses (including his friends) as the real shooter.
Despite the horrible circumstances in which Mr. Toca has been placed, he has sought to make the most out of his time. While in prison he obtained his GED and graduated from bible college. District Attorney Cannizzaro, please fulfill your duty to seek justice, and free George Toca!
