WE ACHIEVED MARÍA'S FREEDOM!
(Text previously published in Animal Político)
María embroidered her story after being unjustly imprisoned for 7 years
María's story and the injustice she suffered began seven years ago, outside a butcher shop in the State of Mexico. That was her husband's business. That day, when their lives turned upside down, he had a fight with a nephew, grabbed one of his knives, and killed him.
Then, instead of facing responsibility for the death he caused with his own hands, he escaped.
He left María alone.
When the police arrived, they asked her to go and make a statement. If she wasn't the culprit, it would just be that, giving her version of what happened.
The justice system of the State of Mexico sentenced an ordinary housewife to 43 years in prison for a homicide she did not commit.
Without many financial resources, she was assigned a public defender. Later she had a private one. However, her case was not progressing well. After a couple of years, she was still in Barrientos prison.
She only began to embroider her freedom when she met people from the organization La Cana. They decided to help her. Attorney Raquel Aguirre focused on dissecting the case file to find the right path.
In an interview, Raquel said that in María's case there was an improper evaluation of evidence, as the trial judge accepted the statements against her, made by relatives of the murdered man (they thought that by accusing María and putting her in jail, her husband would turn himself in for her. But he never appeared).
However, the judge did not take into account the statements in favor of María's innocence from impartial witnesses to the crime, who denied that she had given the knife to her husband to kill.
Among them were a neighbor from a general store, a minor at a nearby bus stop, a customer at the butcher shop, and even an employee at the establishment.
Raquel continued the legal battle. For several months, María heard about an appeal, a habeas corpus. About courtrooms. Federal instances. Magistrates.
She and her four children did not lose hope. And finally there was good news.
After seven years of waiting, the hearing arrived where it was determined that the probable responsibility of the sentenced woman, María, was not proven. The unjust sentence was revoked. So she would be free.
La Cana celebrated the news by posting a photo on social media of María smiling, holding a bear that she learned to embroider.
It is one of the activities taught by this organization, so that women in prisons like Barrientos, Santa Martha, Ecatepec, and Neza Sur can earn an income and move towards comprehensive reintegration.
So that they can "heal a certain part of their past," said Daniela Ancira, founder of La Cana, happy for María's freedom.
Because as she wrote on her Twitter account, as of Tuesday night there would be one less innocent woman in prison.
Regarding situations like María's, lawyer Raquel Aguirre mentioned that women are often more punished by the justice system, as they often lack the resources for a good defense when accused of a crime.
“Much more budget should be allocated to public defenders; that's why we see so many injustices,” she commented.