Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (June 1, 2016)
June 1, 2016 Page 5 photo Courtesy m otto p iCtures and n aked e dge f ilms A still from the documentary ‘Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four’ shows Anna Vasquez and a 2012 issue of the San Antonio Current featuring a cover story about her case. Tried and Convicted by Mistake o PinionAted J udge by J udge d arleen o rtega Documentary sparks conversation on how badly things can go wrong d arleen o rtega When the criminal justice sys- tem makes mistakes, why are we as a culture, and especially those of us inside the system, not more curious about what went wrong? While watching “Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four,” which closed the recent Portland Queer Doc- by umentary Film Festival, I found myself sitting with that question. The criminal justice system is made up of people, and people make mistakes. Popular culture brings stories of a small number of its more dramatic mistakes or potential mistakes to our atten- tion from time to time -- “Serial,” for example, or “The Making of a Murderer.” But the energy we spend trying to understand how such mistakes happened hardly seems commensurate with the cost to the individuals involved, and to the potential for other mistakes we can’t see. The story of the San Anto- nio Four is an agonizing case in point. The late ‘90s marked the tail end of a period of what later was termed “moral panic” about supposed ritual Satanic abuse of children. Stories of such cases dominated the media and be- came a focus of prosecutors and police forces. It is thought that such fears fueled many crimi- nal prosecutions, including the famously wrongful murder con- victions of the Memphis Three, depicted in four excellent doc- umentaries, including “Paradise Lost” and “West of Memphis.” Around that same time period, four young Latinas, all lesbians in their late teens and early 20s, were charged with ritual abuse of two young girls in San Antonio. The children involved were the nieces of one of the young wom- en, Elizabeth Rodriguez, and the girls told a bizarre story that became the basis of a celebrat- ed case against the four young v Ancouver A venue F irst b APtist c hurch Sr. Pastor Rev. J.W. Matt Hennessee. M. Div. MISSION DEPARTMENT Youth Scholarship Fundraiser “Fellowship in Unity” Fashion Show Dinner “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is For brethren to dwell together in unity” – Psalms 133:1 June 3, 2016 6:00PM Donation: $20.00 C ontinued on p age 15 Health Leader Nominated for PDC C ontinued from p age 3 Historical Society Board; the Or- egon Health Policy Board Health- care Workforce Committee; I Have a Dream Oregon board; Gover- nor’s Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse Programs; and was appoint- ed by Mayor Hales to the Commu- nity Oversight Advisory Board, which oversees police reform out- lined in the U.S. Department of Justice settlement agreement. “I am excited about the oppor- tunity to join the PDC, as I will be sure to offer a different perspec- tive and frame,” Moreland-Capuia said. “The city is changing and progressing rapidly. That progress must be tempered with perspec- tive — in this case, broader, wider, deeper and different perspective.” She would replace Anesh- ka Dickson on the ive-member commission. Dickson’s term runs through July 1, and More- land-Capuia’s will begin July 2. Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church Dr. O.B. & Sister Williams Fellowship Hall 3138 N. Vancouver Portland, Or 97227 Information: 503 964-0593 / 503 287-3752