The Los Angeles Times editorial of August 24, 2012, (here) called Daniel Larsen a “victim of a continuing injustice.” According to The Daily Transcript (San Diego) report (here), “U.S. Magistrate Judge Suzanne H. Segal is expected to grant Larsen’s immediate release (from prison) at 2 p.m.” today. This will not fully end his injustice, but it will at least provide Larsen his freedom while the appeals process continues.
According to both news accounts, Larsen’s attorney, who has since been disbarred, failed to call witnesses—including a former police officer and a man who admitted to owning a knife central to the case—who would have discredited the police account that Larsen threw the knife under a car after police responded to a bar fight in 1999. According to the editorial, Larsen was convicted of possessing a weapon, and, because of two prior non-violent convictions, his “‘third strike'” had grave implications: He was sentenced to 28 years to life.”
The California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law eventually accepted Larsen as a client and collected compelling witness statements indicating he was not the man who threw the knife.
Reviewing these accounts, a federal magistrate overturned Larsen’s conviction even though his appeal was filed after the deadline. A second federal judge upheld this ruling, but the California Attorney General opposed the release based on the late filing.
The subsequent appeals process has cost Larsen an additional three years in prison. According to The Daily Transcript article, this delay prompted 130,000 people to sign a change.org petition asking Attorney General Kamala Harris to drop the state’s appeal.
Congratulations to Mr. Larsen and the California Innocence Project, and thanks to citizens who expressed their belief that, in the unusual circumstance of a federal judge declaring “actual innocence,” granting justice supersedes even legitimate procedural rules.
Wrongful Convictions Blog 
Great job done by all!