IN LAPD SCANDAL, CHECKERED PAST OF VICTIMS DAMPENS OUTRAGE
Corrupt police vs. gang members in public opinion
Los Angeles -- Raul Rodriguez remembers his 2 1/2 years in prison on murder
and drug charges as a journey through shades of blackness. He refused to
allow his youngest son to visit him. He lost a promising job as a salesman
at a software company. The gangs he had tried to escape by leaving central
Los Angeles surrounded him.
Deepening his despair was the ridicule that he endured from fellow inmates
when he talked about being exonerated.