Southwest of Salem

I was at the screening of this 91 minute documentary at the ALAMO last night. It is shocking and heartbreaking, AND there is something we can do to address the wrongful action of the court in this case. http://www.southwestofsalem.com/

LOGLINE: After being wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls during the Satanic Panic witchhunt era of the 80s and 90s, four Latina lesbians fight against mythology, homophobia, and prosecutorial fervor in their struggle for exoneration in this riveting 'True Crime' tale.

SYNOPSIS: Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four excavates the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez — four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas. The film begins its journey inside a Texas prison, after these women have spent nearly a decade behind bars. They were 19 and 20 years at the time that allegations surfaced.

Using the women’s home video footage from 21 years ago combined with recent verité footage and interviews, the film explores their personal narratives and their search for exculpatory evidence to help their losing criminal trials. 15 years into their journey, director Deborah S. Esquenazi captures an on-camera recantation by one of the initial outcry victims, now 25 years old although 7 at the time of the investigation. This brings the filmmaker into the role of investigator along with attorneys at the Innocence Project, who are just beginning their quest for truth in this case.

Together with attorneys, the film culminates with the women being released from prison to await their searing new exoneration hearings in San Antonio. Helming new legislation, this is the first case in U.S. history that allows wrongfully convicted innocents to challenge convictions based on ‘Junk Science’, or debunked forensics. As lesbian low income women of color, these women hold intersecting identities that make them the most vulnerable to incarceration and juror bias. This under-reported injustice is actually widespread: Latina women represent one of the growing populations heading into prison. In addition, most reported exonerations and wrongful convictions focus solely on men and cases involving women, let alone lesbian women of color are largely under reported. The film unravels the interplay of mythology, homophobia, and prosecutorial fervor that led to their indictment.

Elizabeth Ramirez, sentenced to 37 ½ years. Born in 1974, Elizabeth “Liz” Ramirez was raised in the San Juan Public Housing Unit in San Antonio, Texas. She was emancipated by her family at the age of 16 after ‘coming out’ as bisexual. She was pregnant at the time of her arrest. Her son, Hector, was born days before entering the Hobby Prison Unit to serve a sentence of 37.5 years. It was Liz’s nieces, Stephanie and Vanessa Limon, who made the outcry against the four women.

Kristie Mayhugh, sentenced to 15 years. Kristie “Kris” Mayhugh was on temporary leave from Texas A&M Veterinary School in College Station, Texas, at the time of her arrest. Mayhugh received a scholarship to attend A&M. She was roommates with Liz, sharing the apartment where the alleged crimes occurred. Kris served her 15-year sentence at the legendary Mountainview Unit’s “Gen Pop”. Mountainview is also home to Texas’ women’s’ Death Row. 

Anna Vasquez, sentenced to 15 years. Anna was born to a large, Catholic family and struggled to come out as a teen in San Antonio. She was the first of the San Antonio Four to be paroled, and was forced to register as a sex offender. She was formerly partnered to Cassie and was co-parenting Cassie’s two children at the time of her conviction.

Cassandra Rivera, sentenced to 15 years. Cassandra “Cassie” Rivera was working at an AutoZone and had been dreaming of restoring and selling classic cars at the time of her arrest. She was in a committed relationship with Anna Vasquez at the time of her arrest. The mother of two young children, Ashley and Michael, Cassie was forced to leave the children with her mother, Margaret Rivera, in San Antonio.