The campaign film — Leon’s story, the evidence, and what Anna is asking for.
Watch first
See it. Hear him.
Start with the film. Then listen to Leon himself. Then watch the two-minute story of the evidence.
Leon’s own voice — press play and listen. This is a voice recording from Leon, so the picture stays dark the whole way. Just listen to him.
The short story film — how one page in the Tampa police report changed everything.
The story
Forty years. One buried page.
Leon Torres has spent forty years in prison for a murder he says he did not commit. And the hardest part is this: the paper that could change everything has been sitting in the police file the whole time.
In 1985, a robber shot Hans Frischknecht dead inside his Tampa restaurant, the Matterhorn. The police had their witness — a young dishwasher named John Scott Lehman. But Lehman’s story would not sit still. After hours of questioning, with the electric chair held over him, he pointed at one man. Then at another man, who sat in jail four months for nothing. And finally at Leon — his own sister’s boyfriend — because Leon owned a gun.
Years later, Lehman swore the truth in writing: he had taken that gun out of Leon’s apartment himself, without Leon ever knowing, and handed it to the real robber that night. Leon’s girlfriend — Lehman’s own sister, Pauline — had told the first jury that Leon confessed to her. At the second trial, she found her courage and took it all back. And the state sent her to prison for it. Think about that. The woman who told the truth went to prison — and the man she told the truth about is still there.
“Two other slugs remain unaccounted for at this time.”
— Tampa police report
The Tampa police report says two bullets from the owner’s gun were never found: “Two other slugs remain unaccounted for at this time.” If the robber was hit that night, he carried those bullets away in his body. Leon was stripped and searched the night he was arrested. There was not a mark on him. And when Leon’s own lawyer finally had to answer for that buried report, he said the words that opened this case back up: “Either I didn’t get it, or I screwed up.”
Where it stands
An appeal, filed by Leon himself
- Filed by Leon himself from Sumter Correctional Institution.
- Second District Court of Appeal of Florida — No. 2D2026-1982.
- What he is asking for: an evidentiary hearing on this evidence — a hearing he has never had.
- The appeal is short — a few pages — and strong.
Leon filed this appeal himself, asking the court for an evidentiary hearing on this evidence — a hearing he has never had. The appeal is short, only a few pages, and strong. Read the story above and judge for yourself.
What Leon & Anna need
Help get this appeal signed & filed
Leon and his wife Anna are raising $4,500 to pay an attorney to sign the appeal and file it. Not for comfort, not for commissary — for a lawyer, a signature, a door to open.
$4,500The full amount for the attorney to sign & file
$1,500 – $2,000A great big help toward that goal
$20On payday helps too — every gift counts
If $4,500 is too far, $1,500 helps, $2,000 helps, $20 on payday helps. Donations go to Anna, who sends them straight to the attorney.
“Out of the goodness of your heart — let the Christmas spirit touch your heart.”
— Leon Torres, in his own words
Forty years is long enough to wait for a hearing. If this story moved you, do the one thing that moves it: give — and then pass it on to one more person.
Donate on GiveSendGo →
Donations go to Anna Torres, who sends them straight to the attorney.