The San Antonio Four, four Latina lesbians who were falsely accused of sexually assault, have finally been exonerated after 20 years.
Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, Anna Vasquez, and Elizabeth Ramirez were wrongfully accused of raping two young girls in a “satanic ritual” that, in the 1990s, a pediatrician claimed was “commonly practiced among lesbians.”
Now, after serving more than 10 years each in prison, the women have been fully cleared of all charges.
After being convicted in 1997, Ramirez received a 37-year sentence, but she was released in 2013. The other women were convicted a year later and sentenced to 15 years each. Mayhew and Rivera ended up serving 14 years, Vasquez 12. The women were freed because in 2012 one of the alleged victims recanted her earlier story, saying that she had been pressured into lying about the assault by her father.
That might have been the end of the case if not for the passage of a 2013 law in Texas allowing those who have been convicted to “challenge their rulings if there is new or different scientific evidence available,” as Rolling Stone reports. The women lobbied the court system for a new trial, and the district attorney felt there were sufficient grounds for an appeal.
The long fight for vindication was chronicled in Southwest of Salem, a documentary that premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2016. Wednesday’s ruling was their final victory.
In addition to their records being expunged, the San Antonio Four could earn millions in reparations from the state, the Los Angeles Times reports.
Finally.
The San Antonio Four, 4 Latina lesbians, finally exonerated after 20 years
QueerAnarchism 