[Note: Friends of Justice is a personal blog. I speak only for myself.]
National Center for Reason and Justice
Roxbury MA
December 22, 2010
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Debbie Nathan
Director, National Center for Reason and Justice
Falsely Convicted Texas Lesbians May Finally Get Justice
New York, NY—December 22, 2010
The four women, all friends, didn’t stand a chance. It was 1994 in Texas. They were young, poor, mostly Latina—and gay. It was easy to falsely accuse them of raping little girls. It was barely harder to convict them.
The National Center for Reason and Justice, a non-profit legal and advisory group for the falsely accused and wrongfully convicted, is much encouraged by an in-depth feature article in the San Antonio Express News documenting serious flaws in the trial and convictions of four lesbians accused of sexually abusing children. The women have steadfastly maintained their innocence.
Three of the women were only 19 and the fourth was 21 when they were accused, in 1994. Elizabeth Ramirez was sent to prison in 1997 and the others were convicted the next year. The medical evidence was invalid and should not have been admitted. The case was poisoned with homophobia and hysteria, including beliefs about non-existent “satanic ritual abuse.”
The NCRJ sponsored this case for over two years and worked with the Innocence Project of Texas, which recently accepted the case for appeal.
“The public has been too long unaware of this grave miscarriage of justice,” said NCRJ Director Debbie Nathan, who has organized support for the women in Texas. “We hope that the exposure in the Express-News will be followed by the national attention the case deserves.”
Read the story: “Did These Women Molest Two Girls?” by Michelle Mondo.
