Man who spent 27 years in prison after wrongful conviction wins WA school board seat [View all]

SUNNYSIDE, Wash. – Evaristo Salas Jr. said there were days he wasn’t sure he would make it out of prison.

But one thing he did know was that, if he ever got the chance, he wanted to help the youths of Sunnyside, Washington.

Now, with a significant lead over his opponent, Laura Galvan, for a seat on the Sunnyside School Board, he says he’s ready to serve his community.

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Salas is a consultant for the Grandview School District, where he mentors at-risk students, and a full-time student at Columbia Basin College majoring in social work with a minor in criminal justice. He was 16 when he was wrongfully convicted of shooting 24-year-old Jose Arreola twice in the head in November 1995. He spent 27 years in prison before being released two years ago.

https://washingtonstatestandard.com/2025/11/10/man-who-spent-27-years-in-prison-after-wrongful-conviction-wins-wa-school-board-seat/