Justice on the Line: The Case of Rosa Jimenez скачать в хорошем качестве

Justice on the Line: The Case of Rosa Jimenez

She has been behind bars for 17 years, but now attorneys, judges, advocates, and lawmakers are calling for a retrial, or even the “outright release” of Rosa Jimenez. Jimenez, whose case has been picked up by the Innocence Project, was tried and convicted of murder and injury to a child in 2005 after 21-month old Bryan Gutierrez choked to death on a wad of paper towels while in her care. Prosecutors at the time argued Jimenez forced the paper towels down the boy’s throat, causing him to choke to death. According to the Innocence Project, however, Jimenez continues to maintain her innocence, calling the death a tragic accident. Over the years, many judges have recommended and written rulings that Jimenez is deserving of a retrial, and in 2019, United States District Judge Lee Yeakel overturned her conviction, ordering a retrial of her case or her release from prison. However, just a month before the decision was to be made, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals approved a motion by the attorney general’s office to suspend Yeakel’s ruling. Since then, five state representatives have called upon Travis County District Attorney Margaret Moore in a letter to re-examine the case. Representatives Donna Howard, Celia Israel, Gina Hinojosa, Sheryl Cole and Vikki Goodwin call the case “extraordinarily unique” and in need of “additional review to ensure that an innocent person does not linger in state custody.” Moore responded to the letter, stating that she has appointed a team to determine whether the case can and should be retried. She also said she’s asked the county’s Conviction Integrity Unit to review the case. To make matters more complicated, however, Jimenez has also just been diagnosed with stage 4 kidney failure, and her attorneys say she needs a life-saving kidney transplant, which is very difficult to get as an inmate. The five state lawmakers also referenced this in their letter to Moore, arguing that Jimenez’s declining health “would effectively render her continued incarceration a likely death sentence.” However, Moore says, “The ultimate question here is whether this little baby stuffed a wad of paper towels the size of a man’s fist down his throat, or whether the defendant did it.”