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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
June 1, 2016 Page 15 Tried and Convicted by Mistake C ontinued from p age 5 women, all of whom claimed in- nocence and none of whom had criminal records of any kind. All four cooperated fully, believing that they had nothing to fear be- cause they were innocent -- and all four were convicted based on the testimony of the two girls and medical testimony that the shape of their hymens conirmed that they had been abused. The ilm’s title means to draw a parallel to the Salem witch trials, and it’s a compelling comparison. Rodriguez was tried irst, hav- ing been arrested shortly after giving birth to her son, and after a trial characterized by homopho- bic slurs and innuendo about her lifestyle, she received a 37-year sentence. The three other wom- en, Rodriguez’s former girlfriend Kristie Mayhugh and domestic partners Anna Vasquez and Cas- sandra Rivera, were tried together and received 15-year sentences. All maintained their innocence and refused to plead out. All of the women served sig- niicant time; Rodriguez was be- hind bars for the 17 years of her son’s childhood, and Rivera had to leave her two children in the care of her mother for the remain- der of theirs. One can scarcely imagine the trauma they all en- dured, and the impossibility of making sense of their experience. It was many years before a biol- ogist in Ottawa took an interest in the women’s cases and began visiting and corresponding with them. He eventually convinced others to look at the cases, and ultimately the Texas Innocence Project succeeded in getting them reopened based on discrediting the medical evidence submitted against the women. The cases crumbled further when one of the two alleged victims, Stephanie, fully recanted her original story. The ilm walks carefully through the stories of the women and grapples with the perplexing senselessness of their lot. Stepha- nie, now in her 20s, recounts how her father and paternal grand- mother coached her to tell the story she did at age 9; one can scarcely imagine the courage it would take to acknowledge such a thing. The women are still in the ight for exoneration; they had to present their exoneration case to the same judge who tried the group of three in the irst place, and he ruled that they were enti- tled to a new trial but not exoner- ation, evincing more concern for the medical expert’s professional reputation than for the grievous losses experienced by these four apparently innocent young wom- en. So what do we do with cases like this? The irst thing we must do is sit with their stories; we must learn to listen well. This ilm left me with many ques- tions, but it provides a careful window into a story that, in the SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION PACKETS Are Available to: High School Grads, College Students, and Adults Cont. Educ. PACKETS CAN BE REQUESTED ON-LINEAT Patricaanntrice@gmail.com or by phone ~ 503 283-6312 (Mrs. Patricia Trice) THE APPLICATION DEADLINE IS MIDNIGHT, JUNE 11TH, 2015 The Della Mae Johnson Scholarship Foundation 2216 NE Killingsworth Portland, OR 97211 (503) 284-0535 end, can’t be explained away. The ilmmakers have spent the time needed to present this case in a way that honors its troubling complexity. These events happened in Tex- as, but that does not give those of us outside of Texas any basis for consoling ourselves. Rather, this story is a window into how badly things can go wrong in our jus- tice system, particularly when the defendants are from marginalized communities, as these women are. It depicts a dramatic exam- ple of how, once we have decided who is the perpetrator of a crime -- and that a crime occurred at all -- all of the energy goes toward proving that we are right, even in the face of signiicant evidence to the contrary. In these particular cases, it is very hard to see how a presumption of innocence was a robust concept. We must sit with such ques- tions if we have any hope of actually upholding, in any case, the values our justice system pur- ports to serve. You can watch for release information at the ilm’s website, southwestofsalem.com, and on its Facebook page. Darleen Ortega is a judge on the Oregon Court of Appeals and the irst woman of color to serve in that capacity. Her movie re- view column Opinionated Judge appears regularly in The Port- land Observer. Find her movie blog at opinionatedjudge.blog- spot.com. Obituary In Loving Memory James H. Brown James H. Brown was born March 27, 1943 and died May 14, 2016. He is survived by his wife, Mary Brown; daughters, Edith Michele Brown and LeAnne Ma- rie Owens; and son, Eric Howard Brown. There will be public viewing on Thursday, June 2, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. at Terry Family Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Friday, June 3, at 10:30 a.m. at Bethel AME Church, 5828 N.E. Eighth Ave., with military honors following at Willamette National Cemetery at 1:30 pm. Arrangements by Terry Family Funeral Home. The Portland Observer need’s a driver for delivery of paper… Wednesday’s only. Must have car and Insurance. If interested email: ads@portlandobserver.com or call 503 288-0033 C LASSIFIED Springdale Job Corps is Hiring Maintenance Technician to per- form maintenance in electrical, carpentry, drywall repair, plumb- ing, heating/ventilation, grounds maintenance. Other duties as assigned. Job #OR010064. $15.90 hour. Recreation Advisor to work after- noons, evenings, weekends car- rying out a variety of recreation activities incl team sports, arts and crafts, workout groups, cul- tural and community activities, after hour’s programs. Obtain water safety and CPR/First Aid certiication and CDL with pas- senger endorsement within 90 days of hire. Training provided. Job #OR010056. $14.16 hour. Security Oficer/Vehicle Operator to assist in reception functions, maintain visitor control area, transport student to activities and appointments. Other du- ties as assigned. Obtain DPSST certiication within 10 days. CDL permit, CDL medical cer- tiication, CPR/First Aid within 90 days. Training provided. Job #OR010062. $14.16 hour. Requirements: HS Diploma or GED; 2 years related experience and/or education; Valid driver’s lic, acceptable driving record. Beneits include company paid and optional beneits, paid holi- days, vacations, personal leave. Apply on-line at www.chugach- jobs.com. #OR010064. Women, veterans, minorities encouraged to apply. We are an Equal Oppor- tunity Employer!