{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->

| name = Eric Volz

| image = JPA_ERIC_VOLZ.jpg

| caption = Eric Volz, May 2010

| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1979|5|19}}

| occupation = [[Crisis Management]], [[Author]]

}}

'''Eric Volz''' (born May 19, 1979<ref>{{cite book |title=The Bridge: The Eric Volz Story: Murder, Intrigue, and a Struggle for Justice in Nicaragua |last=Glasgow |first=Michael |year=2008 |publisher=Morgan James |isbn=1-60037-501-4| page=2}}</ref>) is an American entrepreneur, author,<ref name="Volz, Eric 2011">Volz, Eric. ''Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed For Murder in Nicaragua''. St. Martin’s Press, 2011. ISBN 9780312584177</ref> and the managing director of [[The David House Agency]],<ref name="Detroit Free Press">{{cite news|last=Karoub|first=Jeff|title=Will speaking out help save Mich. prisoner in Iran?|url=http://www.freep.com/article/20120221/NEWS06/202210356/Will-speaking-out-help-save-Mich-prisoner-in-Iraq-|accessdate=March 2, 2012|newspaper=Detroit Free Press|date=February 21, 2012}}</ref> an international crisis resource agency based in [[Los Angeles]]. The [[New York Times]] recognized Volz as a highly sought crisis manager.<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”">{{cite news|last=Gladstone|first=Rick|title=Turning Wrongful Imprisonment Into Advocacy|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2015/03/28/world/americas/once-imprisoned-in-a-foreign-land-an-american-fights-for-the-wrongly-accused.html?ref=topics|accessdate=August 30, 2015|newspaper=New York Times|date=March 27, 2015}}</ref> He specializes in strategy for international [[show trial]]s and other complex political and legal situations abroad.<ref name="mynorthwest.com1">{{cite news|last=Kruse|first=Brandi|title=Through imprisoned Tacoma man, Eric Volz relives his hell|url=http://mynorthwest.com/11/665921/Through-imprisoned-Tacoma-man-Eric-Volz-relives-his-hell|accessdate=August 31, 2015|newspaper=Mynorthwest.com|date=23 April 2012}}</ref>

After his own high-profile wrongful imprisonment case, Volz formed the David House Agency. He was sentenced to a 30-year [[prison]] term in [[Nicaragua]] following his wrongful conviction<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|title=Killing in Nicaragua Makes Spectacle of the Courts|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/world/americas/06nicaragua.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=f9d50f0f574afdc2&ei=5087%0A|accessdate=1 February 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 January 2008}}</ref> for the November 2006 rape and murder of ex-girlfriend Doris Ivania Jiménez in [[San Juan del Sur]].

An [[appellate court]] overturned the conviction on December 17, 2007, and Volz was released from prison four days later. He left Nicaragua immediately and went into hiding in an unknown location because of death threats and over concerns for his physical safety. His experience would become the foundation for his life’s work.<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" /> In an interview with The New York Times, Volz stated that he named the David House Agency after the biblical “shepherd who slew a giant and knew he was on the right side of the equation.”<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" />

Friends and supporters in both countries had insisted on Volz's innocence, claiming that the trial court ignored evidence, and that Volz was the victim of anti-[[gringo]] sentiment.<ref name="anderson2007">[[CNN]] [[Anderson Cooper]], 2007</ref> Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court judges.<ref name=cnn1>{{cite news |first=Edmundo |last=Garcia |title=American freed in Nicaragua goes into hiding |publisher=CNN |url=http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/21/nicaragua.volz/index.html|date=2007-12-27|accessdate=2007-12-22 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20071222143452/http://www.cnn.com/2007/WORLD/americas/12/21/nicaragua.volz/index.html |archivedate = December 22, 2007}}</ref><ref name=msnbc1221>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Celizic |title=Will Nicaragua ever set Eric Volz free? |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22357315 |date=2007-12-21 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duRVjOzI |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref>

Volz’s involvement is visible in some of the highest-profile cases of recent years, including: [[2013 Huang Case in Qatar|Matthew and Grace Huang]],<ref name="“NewYorkMagazine”">{{cite news|last=Kolker|first=Robert|title=Do You Know How Your Daughter Died?|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/07/gloria-huang-qatar-court-case.html|accessdate=August 6, 2015|newspaper=New York Magazine|date=July 14, 2015}}</ref> [[Jason Puracal]],<ref name="CNN1">{{cite news|last=Puente|first=David|title=American freed after 2 years in Nicaraguan ‘hellhole’|url=http://www.cnn.com/2012/09/14/world/americas/nicaragua-american-released/index.html|accessdate=September 1, 2015|newspaper=CNN|date=15 September 2012}}</ref> the [[2009–11 detention of American hikers by Iran|‘American Hikers in Iran’ case]],<ref name="LABusinessJournal1">{{cite news|last=Russell|first=Joel|title=Firm Locked In on Freeing U.S. Citizens Overseas|url=http://davidhouseagency.com/la-business-journal-on-david-house-agency/|accessdate=2 August 2015|newspaper=LA Business Journal1}}</ref> [[Amir Mirza Hekmati|Amir Hekmati]],<ref name="Pacific Counsel">{{cite web|url= http://www.pacificcouncil.org/sslpage.aspx?pid=775|title=The Foreign Policy Challenges of Abductions and Detentions Abroad|publisher=The Pacific Counsel on International Policy|accessdate=September 2, 2015}}</ref> [[Kenneth Bae]] and [[Amanda Knox]].<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" />

Upon his return to the United States, Eric wrote a memoir about his experience, ''Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua''.<ref name="Publishers Weekly Citation">{{cite web|last=Van Pelt|first=Doug|title=Eric Volz Update|url=http://www.hmmagazine.com/2010/03/eric-volz-update/|publisher=HM Magazine|accessdate=March 2, 2012}}</ref> The book was published by [[St. Martin's Press]].

==Early life==

Volz was born in [[Northern California]] and is a former resident of [[Nashville, Tennessee|Nashville]], [[Tennessee]].<ref name="FOEVbio">{{cite web|url=http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=4&Itemid=3|title=Eric's Story|publisher=Friends of Eric Volz|accessdate=March 22, 2007 |archiveurl = https://web.archive.org/web/20070304043011/http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=4&Itemid=3 |archivedate = March 4, 2007}}</ref> He is of Mexican descent and is fluent in [[Spanish language|Spanish]].<ref name="EricVolz’sHispanicBiography ">{{cite web|title=Eric Volz’s Hispanic Biography|url=http://www.hispanicnashville.com/2008/03/eric-volz-hispanic-autobiography.html|accessdate=September 17, 2015}}</ref> He received a degree in [[Latin American Studies]] from [[University of California, San Diego]].<ref name="FOEVbio"/> Volz later moved to [[Managua]], [[Nicaragua]], where he launched ''El Puente'' ("The Bridge") magazine, advocating for [[smart growth]] and [[ecotourism]].<ref name="Tenn070318">{{cite news|url=http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/NEWS03/703180373/1192/COUNTY10|title=From Nashville to Nicaragua, family fights to free son|author=Brad Schrade|publisher=''[[The Tennessean]]''|date=March 18, 2007|accessdate=March 22, 2007}}{{dead link|date=December 2008}}</ref>

==Career==

Volz’s international business career started in 2004 when he launched and published a bilingual conscious living and smart tourism magazine called El Puente (EP) in Nicaragua. He went on to establish an investment consulting practice and co-own a Century 21 franchise.<ref name="EricVolzAuthorBio">{{cite web|title=Eric Volz Author Page|url=http://www.amazon.com/Eric-Volz/e/B002WH92E4|accessdate=September 1, 2015}}</ref> After his experience of being wrongfully imprisoned in a foreign country, he authored his memoir Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua,<ref name="Volz, Eric 2011"/> and became an established professional speaker.<ref name="EricVolzSpeakerBio">{{cite web|title=Eric Volz Speaker Bio|url= http://www.macmillanspeakers.com/ericvolz|accessdate=September 3, 2015}}</ref>

After his conviction was overturned, Volz began to be approached by families of other wrongfully imprisoned individuals seeking guidance on how to navigate similar situations. After several years, what began as pro-bono advice evolved into a private consultancy in 2009. Due to a high volume of cases, Volz founded the David House Agency in 2011.<ref name="LABusinessJournal1" /><ref name="EricVolzAuthorBio">{{cite web|title=Eric Volz Author Page|url=http://www.amazon.com/Eric-Volz/e/B002WH92E4|accessdate=September 1, 2015}}</ref>

Referred to as its biggest victory so far,<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" /> the David House Agency (along with the California Innocence Project) worked on behalf of Matthew and Grace Huang, an American couple of Asian descent from Los Angeles living in Qatar— accused of fatally abusing their adopted daughter who suffered from an eating disorder and other health issues from her deprived upbringing in Ghana.<ref name="“NewYorkMagazine”">{{cite news|last=Kolker|first=Robert|title=Do You Know How Your Daughter Died?|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/07/gloria-huang-qatar-court-case.html|accessdate=August 6, 2015|newspaper=New York Magazine|date=July 14, 2015}}</ref>

Volz assembled a defense that included evidence that the prosecution had faked a pathology report on the cause of the girl’s death. Volz's fight for the Huangs included repeated travels to the Middle East and Europe, where he engaged with Qatari government officials. He also pressed American diplomats in Washington and Qatar for their release.<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" /> The Huangs were declared innocent on November 30, 2014, and in December of that year they returned to the United States.<ref name="“NewYorkMagazine”">{{cite news|last=Kolker|first=Robert|title=Do You Know How Your Daughter Died?|url=http://nymag.com/daily/intelligencer/2015/07/gloria-huang-qatar-court-case.html|accessdate=August 6, 2015|newspaper=New York Magazine|date=July 14, 2015}}</ref>

Volz managed the case of Seattle resident Jason Puracal, who was wrongfully convicted of international drug trafficking and money laundering in Nicaragua and sentenced to 22 years in prison.<ref name="mynorthwest.com1" /> Volz’s defense strategy included appearances on CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360 <ref name="AndersonCooper360">{{cite news|last=Cooper|first=Anderson|title=Fight to free American in Nicaragua jail|url= http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2012/06/14/fight-to-free-american-in-nicaragua-jail/|accessdate=September 9, 2015|newspaper=CNN|date=June 14, 2012}}</ref> and a ruling from the United Nations Working Group on Arbitrary Detention that Puracal’s detainment was in violation of international law and demanded his immediate release.<ref name="DavidHouseFoundation">{{cite web|title=Jason Puracal Case Summary|url= http://davidhousefoundation.org/jason-puracal/|accessdate=September 5, 2015}}</ref> Puracal’s release was ultimately secured after two years in prison.<ref name="CNN1" />

Among other famous cases, Volz led the David House Agency’s involvement on the case of the three American hikers who wandered across the Iranian border and were arrested in 2009, and Amir Hekmati, a former U.S. Marine accused of espionage in Iran.<ref name="LABusinessJournal1" /> Volz also advised family members of Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American missionary sentenced in 2013 by North Korea to 15 years of hard labor and freed in November 2014,<ref name="“NewYorkTimes”" /> and Amanda Knox.<ref name="mynorthwest.com1" />

In October 2014, Volz announced on his Twitter page<ref name="EricVolzTwitter">{{cite web|title=Eric Volz Tweets|url= https://twitter.com/EricVolz|accessdate=September 9, 2015}}</ref> the launch of the David House Foundation, a nonprofit, non-partisan think tank offering research and analysis on the growing trend of politically motivated detentions of westerners and travelers in foreign countries.<ref name="DavidHouseAgency">{{cite web|title=New Non-profit Resource for Americans in Trouble Abroad|accessdate= September 10, 2015|url= http://davidhouseagency.com/david-house-launches-non-profit-think-tank/}}</ref> The foundation hosts a niche news channel on its website called ShowTrial News, giving up-to-date information on past and current international wrongful imprisonment cases.<ref name="DavidHouseFoundation2">{{cite web|title= ShowTrial News|url= http://davidhousefoundation.org/showtrial-news/|accessdate=September 10, 2015}}</ref>

==Wrongful Imprisonment==

===The Murder and the Suspects===

On November 21, 2006, Doris Ivania Jiménez, a Nicaraguan who had dated Volz, was murdered at midday in her clothing store Sol Fashion in [[San Juan del Sur]], a Nicaraguan coastal town near [[Rivas, Nicaragua|Rivas]]. Volz was arrested and charged with her murder.<ref name="NCP070228" /> However, according to both associates and [[mobile phone]] records, Volz was at his home in [[Managua]], which also served as the magazine headquarters, conducting meetings and business, including a [[conference call]] with contacts in [[Atlanta, Georgia]], in the United States, and telephone and internet logs confirm this.<ref name="NCP070228" /> Managua is a two-hour drive from San Juan del Sur.<ref name="Tenn070318">{{cite news|url=http://tennessean.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070318/NEWS03/703180373/1192/COUNTY10|title=From Nashville to Nicaragua, family fights to free son|author=Brad Schrade|publisher=''[[The Tennessean]]''|date=March 18, 2007|accessdate=March 22, 2007}}{{dead link|date=December 2008}}</ref>

Police issued warrants for four men. Two were local San Juan del Sur Nicaraguan surfers, known drug-users and petty criminals, arrested soon after the murder.<ref name="“CrimeandInvestigation">{{cite web|url=http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/eric-volz/arrest |title=Eric Volz, The Arrest|publisher=Crime and Investigation|accessdate=September 20, 2015}}</ref> They were Julio Martín Chamorro López (30), known locally by his nickname "Rosita" and Nelson Antonio López Danglas, (24), known locally as "Krusty." The third suspect, who was rumored to have been dating Doris Jiménez at the time of her death, was Nicaraguan college student Armando Llanes (20), whose college — Ave Maria College of the Americas, located near Managua — provided him an alibi for part of the time during which the rape and murder had been committed, hence he was never arrested. The fourth suspect was U.S. citizen Eric Volz, who had dated Jiménez for over year, but the couple had broken up by the summer of 2006.<ref name="“Outside Magazine">{{cite news|last=D’Souza|first=Tony|title=The Boomtown, the Gringo, the Girl, and Her Murder|url= http://www.outsideonline.com/1920826/boomtown-gringo-girl-and-her-murder|accessdate=September 3, 2015|magazine=Outside Magazine|date=May 1, 2007}}</ref>

Chamorro was nabbed after police saw him wandering near Sol Fashion shirtless, bearing what appeared to be fresh scratches and "acting nervous."<ref name="“Outside Magazine" /> Danglas was also arrested. Physical exam records by the police noted that both Chamorro and Danglas bore "scratches on their arms,” and Danglas was scratched “on seven different parts of his body,” including his penis.<ref name="“Outside Magazine" />

In court testimony, a neighbor said that Chamorro had been hanging around Doris Jiménez more frequently prior to the murder, and five days before the event had overheard an angry Chamorro say, "I don't give a damn about this Doris; she's a gringo chaser..."<ref name="“Outside Magazine" /> Danglas, despite his fresh injuries, was offered full immunity in exchange for testifying against the American Eric Volz, who had ended a relationship with Doris six months prior. Krusty was released, while Rosita remained in custody, and later appeared as a co-defendant at the trial on February 14, 2007.

The third suspect, Armando Llanes, was never arrested despite the outstanding warrant for his arrest and whose charges were dropped when he produced a statement from his university registrar accounting for his whereabouts during some of the time of when the murder was said to have occurred.<ref name="“CrimeandInvestigation2">{{cite web|url= http://www.crimeandinvestigation.co.uk/crime-files/eric-volz/arrest|title=Eric Volz, The Arrest|publisher=Crime and Investigation|accessdate=September 20, 2015}}</ref> The prominent Nicaraguan journalist Camilo de Castro shared the results of his independent investigation during a live television interview, with special emphasis on inconsistencies in Armando Llanes’ alibi and the need for further investigation.<ref name="“24Horas">{{cite video|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZs87DyKft0|title=Inconsistnces of Armando Llanes' Alibi According to Nicaraguan Journalist|publisher=24Horas|accessdate=September 20, 2015}}</ref>

Volz was arrested November 23, 2006, and charged with murder, based on the claims of surfers "Rosita" Chamorro and "Krusty" Danglas, who were both originally charged with the murder, and—per police records—who both bore physical scratches on their bodies, consistent with evidence that Jiménez had scratched her attacker(s). Later, Rosita admitted to journalist Tony D'Souza that his testimony had been coerced by the police.<ref name="Tenn070318"/> Volz was arrested despite the fact that ten witnesses and a variety of digital evidence placed Volz two hours away from the crime scene at the time of the murder—at his home in Managua. His home also served as the headquarters for his magazine, where he was conducting meetings and business at the time of the murder.<ref name="mynorthwest.com1" /><ref name=cnn1 /> Nelson Danglas (who had received full immunity in exchange for his testimony) was the only person who testified seeing Volz in San Juan del Sur just after the time police believe Doris Jimenez was killed.<ref name=cnn1 />

===The Trial===

With Danglas being given full immunity and Llanes never arrested, Chamorro and Volz were left to stand trial as co-defendants.

Two days before Volz's December 7 arraignment in Rivas, a car with loudspeakers circled through San Juan exhorting people to "bring justice to the gringo!" A huge crowd jeered as he was escorted into the courthouse; during the hearing, a woman outside could be heard shouting, "Come out, gringo, we are going to murder you!"<ref name="“Outside Magazine" />

The murder and trial reportedly cracked open feelings of resentment among Nicaraguans, many of whom believed justice could be bought, saw the killing as a symptom of an invasion of foreigners seeking prime beachfront land.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA021707_01A_Gringo_trial_127c7db_html19537.html |title=American guilty in Nicaragua |date=2007-12-17 |work=San Antonio News Express|accessdate=2009-01-18|archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duUzhKbZ |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref> The trial was reportedly “chaotic,” and on at least two occasions the courtroom was surrounded by angry protesters; at one point forcing Volz and a U.S. Embassy security official to flee an angry mob in fear for their lives.<ref name=wsj1>{{cite news |first=John |last=Lyons |title=Man Profiled in WSJ Is Freed In Nicaraguan Murder Case |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]]|url=http://online.wsj.com/article/SB119792299608334695.html?mod=googlenews_wsj |date=2007-12-17 |accessdate=2007-12-17}}</ref>

According to Volz's attorneys, Nicaraguan prosecutors did not produce any physical evidence before or at trial.<ref name="NCP070228">{{cite news|url=http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=54873 |title=Volz victim of cultural, political, judicial perfect storm |author=Jared Allen |publisher=''[[The City Paper]]'' |accessdate=2007-03-22 |deadurl=yes |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070303040944/http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=54873 |archivedate=March 3, 2007 }}</ref> No physical evidence from the crime scene linked Volz to the slaying,<ref name=cnn1 /> and exculpatory evidence was disallowed.<ref name=wsj1 />

Although ten witnesses supported Volz's alibi and were with him at the time of the murder, the trial court judge, Ivette Toruño Blanco, disallowed the testimony of all of ten claiming their testimony would be redundant and only permitted the testimony of three people who were not with Volz at the time of the murder.

On February 14, 2007, a police officer testified that Rosita Chamorro, claimed that Volz and another foreigner, whom he did not identify, participated in the murder. In her testimony, Mercedes Alvarado, mother of the victim, described Volz as a jealous man whom her daughter believed would kill her because of his jealousy.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.mysanantonio.com/news/MYSA021707_01A_Gringo_trial_127c7db_html19537.html |title=American guilty in Nicaragua |date=2007-12-17 |work=San Antonio News Express1|accessdate=2009-01-18 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duUzhKbZ |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref>

===Trial Verdict and Controversy===

At the conclusion of the three-day trial, Judge Toruño Blanco convicted Volz and sentenced him to 30 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/world/americas/06nicaragua.html?_r=1&pagewanted=1&ref=americas |title=Killing in Nicaragua Makes Spectacle of the Courts |last=Lacey |first=Marc |date=2008-01-06 |work=[[The New York Times]] |accessdate=2009-01-18}}</ref> Friends and supporters in both countries had insisted on Volz's innocence, claiming that the trial court ignored evidence, and that Volz was the victim of anti-gringo sentiment.<ref name=cnn5>{{cite video|people=Cooper, Anderson (Host)|date=April 23, 2007| title=Anderson Cooper 360 Story of EricVolz|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xJeuJj6TDc |access-date=September 20, 2015|publisher=CNN}}</ref>

===Campaign for Release===

Volz’s family and friends started the Free Eric Volz campaign asserting Volz’s innocence via social media, including a YouTube documentary entitled “Eric Volz Wrongfully Imprisoned In Nicaragua”[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YChhOHrFA4], and a website called Friends of Eric Volz [http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/]. The San Francisco Chronicle identified the campaign as “high-tech and visible”, and was one of the first times the internet and social media had been used to raise awareness about a wrongful imprisonment case.<ref name=SFGate>{{cite news |first=Eric|last=Sabo|title=Family uses Web in efforts to free imprisoned son / They say evidence proves he didn't kill girlfriend in Nicaragua|work=SF Gate|url= http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/Family-uses-Web-in-efforts-to-free-imprisoned-son-2604140.php|date= April 6, 2007|accessdate=September 24, 2007}}</ref> The case received high levels of media attention, both in Spanish and English news markets including a front page feature in the Wall Street Journal.<ref name=wsj1 />

{| class="wikitable"

|+ Notable Investigative Reports on Eric Volz

! Media Outlet

! Title

! Reporter

|-

| A&E

|Nightmare in Nicaragua [http://gringonightmare.com/exhibit_hall/exhibit_4/]

| [[Bill Kurtis]]

|-

|Esta Semana

| Asesinato en San Juan del Sur: Irregularidades en el Caso Volz [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u3sO9nNjm_8]

|Camilo de Castro

|-

| Outside Magazine

| The Boomtown, the Gringo, the Girl, and Her Murder [http://www.outsideonline.com/1920826/boomtown-gringo-girl-and-her-murder]

| Tony D’Souza

|-

|Men’s Journal

| A Season in Hell [http://bi.hcpdts.com/reflowable/scrollableiframe/9780061982507]

| Dean LaTourrette

|}

===Acquittal and Release===

Volz spent the next 14 months struggling to stay alive in prison until, on December 17, 2007, he was ordered released after an appeals court overturned the conviction. His passport and bail of $10,000 were never returned: Volz, however, was not immediately freed because a judge failed to show up for an afternoon meeting to arrange his release.<ref name=wsj1 />Local judge Ivette Toruño Blanco delayed signing the order releasing him.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1696075,00.html|title=Gringo Justice in Nicaragua|last=Rogers|first=Tim|date=2007-12-18|work=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|accessdate=2008-08-04 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duRyEkLy |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref> On December 20, 2007, an appeals court in [[Granada, Nicaragua|Granada]] signed release papers for Volz. The prosecutor decided to file a reversal to the appeal in the Nicaraguan supreme court despite the appellate ruling. It was four days before he was actually freed.<ref name="“CNN">{{cite news|last=Harris|first=Brittany|title=Freed American, Eric Volz, says he still can't rest|url= http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/americas/01/11/eric.volz.interview/|accessdate=September 3, 2015|newspaper=CNN|date=January 1, 2008}}</ref>

Volz's mother appeared on NBC's ''[[Today (NBC program)|Today]]'' on December 21, 2007, petitioning the Nicaraguan government to release her son. She received support from the White House with a speech from U.S. Secretary of State [[Condoleezza Rice]].<ref name="TodayShow">{{cite news |url=http://test.redlasso.com/service/svc/clip/playClip?fid=c4a910de-2704-4504-a850-a18f4e96fdca |title=Mother of Eric Volz petitions for her sons release. |work=[[Today (NBC program)|Today]] |accessdate=2007-12-21}} {{Dead link|date=September 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref> The same day, the appeals court signed release papers for Volz, who left Nicaragua on Friday afternoon, said Eddie Vasquez, a spokesman for the U.S. State Department.<ref name="anderson2007"/>

Opponents in Nicaragua protested against his release due to what they perceived as special consideration as an American, pressure from the United States government, and accusations that Volz's family bribed the appellate court judges.<ref name=cnn1 /><ref name=msnbc1221>{{cite news |first=Mike |last=Celizic |title=Will Nicaragua ever set Eric Volz free? |publisher=[[MSNBC]] |url=http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/22357315 |date=2007-12-21 |accessdate=2007-12-23 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duRVjOzI |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref>

Volz left Nicaragua immediately and went into hiding in an unknown location outside Nicaragua because of death threats and over concerns for his physical safety.<ref name=cnn1 />

===Political Undertones===

Amidst the political backdrop of this case, former Communist leader Daniel Ortega had ascended back to power in Nicaragua just weeks after Doris Jiménez's death.<ref name=MiamiNewTimes>{{cite news |first=Tim|last=Elfrink|title=ERIC VOLZ WAS WRONGFULLY IMPRISONED IN NICARAGUA, SAYS ORTEGA WAS TO BLAME|publisher=Miami New Times|url=http://www.miaminewtimes.com/news/eric-volz-was-wrongfully-imprisoned-in-nicaragua-says-ortega-was-to-blame-6558537/|date=May 12, 2010|accessdate=September 6, 2015}}</ref> An unnamed senior US State Department official commented to media that the US ambassador to Nicaragua had spoken to officials up to and including President Daniel Ortega, to push the case along.<ref name=cnn1 />

That same official noted that although it was viewed as being in the Ortega government’s best interest to implement the court’s decision to overturn Volz’s conviction, there was concern that the Nicaraguan government did not want to be perceived as caving to international pressure <ref name=cnn1 />

The [[Sandinista National Liberation Front]] governments chief prosecutor, Julio Centeno, referred to Volz's liberation as a "barbarity", a view echoed by the Sandinista’s current Director of Human Rights [[Omar Cabezas]].<ref>{{cite news| url=http://www.time.com/time/world/article/0,8599,1696075,00.html | work=Time | title=Gringo Justice in Nicaragua | date=2007-12-18}}</ref>

The New York Times reported that the case “proved not who killed Ms Jimenez, but that justice in Nicaragua is a nebulous concept, subjective to the point of abstraction.” <ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|title=Killing in Nicaragua Makes Spectacle of the Courts|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/world/americas/06nicaragua.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=f9d50f0f574afdc2&ei=5087%0A|accessdate=1 February 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 January 2008}}</ref> The outlet also reported that “Those who are certain that Mr. Volz killed Ms. Jimenez and those equally insistent that he did not agree on one thing: the case has laid bare the deficiencies in Nicaraguan justice”.<ref name="New York Times">{{cite news|last=Lacey|first=Marc|title=Killing in Nicaragua Makes Spectacle of the Courts|url=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/06/world/americas/06nicaragua.html?em&ex=1199768400&en=f9d50f0f574afdc2&ei=5087%0A|accessdate=1 February 2012|newspaper=New York Times|date=6 January 2008}}</ref>

== International Lawsuit: Volz v. Nicaragua ==

On November 17, 2008, Volz announced via a YouTube video that the Nicaraguan government had reopened its case against him after 11 months. In response, Volz filed a 700-page petition, Volz v. Nicaragua, to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights of the Organization of American States (OAS) in 2009.<ref name="“TheBLT">{{cite web|url=http://legaltimes.typepad.com/blt/2010/05/gibson-dunn-lawyer-talks-about-nicaraguan-murder-case.html|title=Gibson Dunn Lawyer Talks About Nicaraguan Murder Case|publisher=The Blog of Legal Times|date=May 7, 2010|accessdate=October 1, 2015}}</ref> The Commission’s response is still pending. Volz’s lawyers argued that retrying an acquitted person violates [[Constitution of Nicaragua|Nicaragua's constitution]] and they claimed political motivation, specifically [[Anti-Americanism|anti-American sentiment]], for this action.<ref name="Friends">{{cite web |url=http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/ |title=Eric Volz to be re-tried in Nicaragua today at 9am CST |date=2008-11-17 |publisher=FriendsofEricVolz.com |accessdate=2009-01-18 |archiveurl=http://www.webcitation.org/5duRCqNnE |archivedate=2009-01-18}}</ref>

== Memoir ==

In May 2010, [[St. Martin’s Press]] published a memoir by Volz entitled Gringo Nightmare.<ref name="Volz, Eric 2011"/> The book was edited by Charlie Spicer, who [[USA Today]] calls, "publishing's most savvy true-crime editor".<ref name="USA Today on Charlie Spicer">{{cite news|last=Donahue|first=Deirdre|title=Publishers avoid D.C. sniper story|url=http://www.usatoday.com/life/books/news/2002-10-27-sniper-books_x.htm|accessdate=March 2, 2012|newspaper=USA Today|date=October 27, 2002}}</ref> A paperback edition was published a year later in May 2011.

The book launched with a first of its kind online [http://gringonightmare.com/exhibit_hall/ "Exhibit Hall"]<ref>{{cite web|last=Chiger|first=Sherry|title=The Web, Social Networks, and "Gringo Nightmare"|url=http://blog.multichannelmerchant.com/blog/2010/06/30/the-web-social-networks-and-gringo-nightmare/|work=Multichannel Merchant Blog|publisher=Multichannel Merchant|accessdate=22 March 2012}}</ref> that allows readers to review actual case materials such as: photographs and video from inside prisons, headshots of main characters, audio tapes from trial, autopsy reports, government documents, witness statements, crime scene photos, original police case file, defense motions, court rulings, and newspaper articles.<ref name="GringoNightmareExhibitHall">{{cite web|title=Gringo Nightmare Exhibit Hall|url=http://gringonightmare.com|publisher=Gringo Nightmare|accessdate=26 August 2015}}</ref> The book's [[foreword]] was written by investigative journalist [[Bill Kurtis]] host of [[A&E Network]]'s Investigative Reports, ''[[American Justice]]'', and ''[[Cold Case Files]]''. Bill Kurtis stated, "This story should be issued with every passport.”<ref name="Volz, Eric 2011"/>

The book received praise after its release. Publishers Weekly said “There is much pain in Volz's memoir of being a young American in a near-perfect frame-up involving murder, tabloid headlines, police corruption, and political power plays in Nicaragua.”<ref name="PublishersWeekly">{{cite news|title=Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua|url=http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-312-55727-0|accessdate=August 20, 2015|newspaper=Publishers Weekly}}</ref> Outside Magazine said, “Volz walks us through his ordeal in clear, engaging prose, focusing on the trial and the challenges of daily life in rank Central American prisons.<ref name="OutsideMagazine">{{cite news|last=D’Souza |first=Tony|title=Books: Gringo Nightmare|url= http://www.outsideonline.com/1872901/books-gringo-nightmare|accessdate=August 27, 2015|newspaper= Outside Magazine|date=April 26, 2010}}</ref>

==References==

{{Reflist}}

==External links==

* [http://www.davidhouseagency.com/ David House Agency]

* [http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/ Friends of Eric Volz]

* [http://outsideonline.com/outside/destinations/200706/eric-volz-nicaragua-1.html Outside magazine feature story – June 2007]

* [http://www.newsobserver.com/102/story/572485.html News and Observer – May 10, 2007]

* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/05/06/AR2007050600937.html Washington Post – May 7, 2007]

* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=9903586 NPR: Family – April 29, 2007]

* [http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18264642/ Dateline NBC report on the case]

* [http://www.amazon.com/dp/0312557272 Gringo Nightmare: A Young American Framed for Murder in Nicaragua]

*[http://www.macmillanspeakers.com/ericvolz Macmillan Speakers Bureau profile]

*http://www.mensjournal.com/eric-volz/ Eric Volz: A Season in Hell - June 1, 2007

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Volz, Eric}}

[[Category:1979 births]]

[[Category:Living people]]

[[Category:American expatriates in Nicaragua]]

[[Category:American magazine publishers (people)]]

[[Category:American people of Mexican descent]]

[[Category:People from Nashville, Tennessee]]

[[Category:University of California, San Diego alumni]]

[[Category:American people imprisoned abroad]]

[[Category:Prisoners and detainees of Nicaragua]]

[[Category:Overturned convictions]]