Texas' highest criminal court on Wednesday exonerated four San Antonio women who spent almost 15 years in prison after being wrongfully convicted of sexually assaulting two girls, opening the door for the women to seek potentially millions of dollars in state compensation.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that the so-called "San Antonio 4" — Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera and Anna Vasquez — were innocent. The decision will allow the criminal records of all four women to be expunged.
The women were convicted in 1998, after two of Ramirez's nieces, ages 7 and 9, accused them of holding them by the wrists and ankles, sexually assaulting and threatening to kill them in 1994. One of the nieces later recanted, saying another family member threatened her into making the statements.
"Those defendants have won the right to proclaim to the citizens of Texas that they did not commit a crime. That they are innocent. That they deserve to be exonerated," Judge David Newell wrote in the majority opinion. "These women have carried that burden. They are innocent. And they are exonerated."
Mike Ware, an attorney with the Innocence Project who represented the women, said the women were "ecstatic" after learning about the ruling. The nonprofit, which investigates possible wrongful convictions, took on the case more than a decade after the women were convicted.
"It's going to be a very good Thanksgiving for all four of them," he said. "The court has issued a very well-reasoned and excellent opinion. Really a courageous opinion."
