Photos:: Wrongfully convicted | Rafael Madrigal
Rafael Madrigal kneels at his father’s grave with daughter Kimberly, 12, after Christmas 2013 at Rose Hills Memorial Park in Whittier. Madrigal’s father died while he was in prison. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Undated copy photo of Rafael Madrigal with his wife, Veronica, and children: Andrew, left, now 20, Rafael Jr., now 16, and Kimberly, now 13. Kimberly was born while he was behind bars. His first sight of her was through a visiting room window. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal plays in July 2013 with daughter Leslie, born in 2010, at home in Ontario. Unemployed at the time, Madrigal filled his days with housework and childcare duties. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal plays with daughter Leslie, then nearly 3, at his home in Ontario. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Rafael Madrigal kisses his wife, Veronica, goodbye as she heads off for work. Veronica raised the couple’s children while he was incarcerated. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal, center, sits quietly against a wall inside a Sacramento hearing room in March as his attorney, Alex Simpson, left, discusses his case just before the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board hearing. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Michael Ramos, San Bernardino district attorney and member of the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board, listens as Madrigal’s attorney argues for his compensation after his wrongful conviction. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal talks with his wife, Veronica, during dinner at their home in Ontario. The family has been trying to get back on their feet after Rafael’s years in prison for a crime he did not commit. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
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Rafael Madrigal tunes in cartoons on TV for his daughter Leslie. Madrigal lost a job because he told his employer he had been wrongfully convicted. But he found another position, and was recently promoted. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal, left, watches television while son Andrew works on his laptop at their Ontario home. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal, left, and his wife, Veronica, celebrate their daughter’s 4th birthday with friends and family in August in the backyard of their rented home. Since he was released from prison in 2009, his family has moved several times. Veronica was forced to sell their home while he was in prison. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)
Rafael Madrigal sits silently in a Sacramento hearing room with his attorney Alex Simpson during his compensation hearing June 3, 2013. Months later, the state board would deny him compensation for the time he was wrongfully imprisoned. (Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)