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Chicago Sun-Times
Chicago Sun-Times
National
Phyllis Cha

Exonerated after 42 years in prison, two cousins look forward to fresh start in 2024

David Ayala Prison Pat Nabong SunTimes BRIDGEPORT Law School McKinley Park Walmart
Jermaine Anderson, founder and executive director of Project Gentlemen Image & Grooming Studio, shakes hands with James Soto. Soto and his cousin, David Ayala, second from right, served 42 years in prison for a double slaying that they did not commit. Project Gentlemen provides clothing and grooming services for high school seniors and men who are reentering the workforce. (Pat Nabong/Sun-Times)

Two weeks ago, Jimmy Soto and David Ayala were wearing blue prison-issued jumpsuits.

On Tuesday, they were both in new suits, ready to tackle the new year and their new lives after serving 42 years in prison for a 1981 double slaying in McKinley Park. They were exonerated this month in what is the longest-served wrongful conviction sentence in state history, according to the University of Michigan’s National Registry of Exonerations. 

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