Starr County, Texas prosecutors brought a legal invalid murder case against a woman who had “self-induced abortion”. This is in contrast to the pro-life convictions. An interview with a lawyer from the local area. The Washington Post According to the legal community, the majority of the people involved agreed that the decision resulted from “gross negligence”.
Ross Barrera was the former Chairman of Starr County Republican Party. He described District Attorney Gocha Allan Ramirez, as “a hardcore Democrat”, who misunderstands the law. Barrera stated that he believed his office had failed to do their job. “I’d put my hand on a Bible and declare that this wasn’t a political statement.
It would be a gross abuse of power to ignore the law and indict, arrest, or jail a young lady who has not committed any crime. But not knowing the law and not bothering to look it up before putting her through that ordeal is the sort of egregious failure that should disqualify Ramirez from continuing to serve in an office that gives him broad authority to bring charges that can send people to prison—in this case, potentially for life.
Lizelle Herrera (26-year-old) was a victim of Ramirez’s incredible carelessness. She was admitted to hospital in January after she had miscarriaged. Rockie González, the founder of La Frontera Fund was a pro-abortion rights group. Herrera “allegedly confessed to hospital staff she attempted to induce her abortion. The hospital administration and staff reported Herrera to authorities.”
Although it was obvious from the beginning that Herrera’s allegation wasn’t a Texas crime, Starr County Sheriff’s Office referred Herrera’s matter to Ramirez’s Office, who obtained a March 30, indictment saying Herrera had “intentionally, knowingly caused” the incident.[d]The death of an individual on January 7, “by self-induced abortion.” Herrera was taken into custody last Thursday. Herrera spent two nights behind bars before she was freed on $500,000 bail.
Ramirez acknowledged that all of these actions were illegal in a Sunday press release. Ramirez decided, after reviewing the Texas laws in question, to immediately drop the charges against Ms. Herrera. “It is evident that Ms. Herrera should not be charged with the allegations against her,” he said. The Texas Penal Code explicitly says a murder charge “does not apply to the death of an unborn child if the conduct charged is…conduct committed by the mother of the unborn child.”
Ramirez’s Office is still unsure who requested Herrera’s arrest. It is unclear who in Ramirez’s office sought the indictment against Herrera. PostRamirez said that “court officials refer questions about which prosecution presented Herrera’s matter to the grand jury.” Ramirez was “unable to be reached Wednesday morning.” Ramirez received my email and I left a message. If he responds, I will make this update.
It PostNoting that Judith Solis is one of the five prosecutors from Ramirez’s Office, she was also the lawyer who filed a divorce Petition for Herrera’s husband on April 7. This happened the exact same day Herrera got arrested. Melisandra Mendoza, who was a district attorney, stated that Solis shouldn’t make Herreras’ arrest an issue in divorce. “There may not be conflict of interest.” Post says. Although local prosecutors can take civil cases, she said that she wouldn’t have tried the divorce case.
Herrera was married to her husband in 2015. They have two children. Herrera separated from her husband less than one week before she visited the hospital. This suggests that Herrera’s decision about her pregnancy might have been influenced by her husband. He told a TV reporter that he had no words right now. It was a boy. “It was a boy.”
Regardless of whether Solis, or another prosecutor sought indictment against Ramirez, that individual failed to satisfy the most fundamental requirement of such a determination: verifying that a suspect’s alleged conduct meets the elements of the proposed charge. Ramirez also displayed either an indifference or lax supervision, depending on whether he was informed about the seemingly new charge after the fact. Ramirez’s inattention and legal knowledge are not reflected by the fact that it took Ramirez a week to find out his office’s “gross negligence” and only after Herrera was arrested.
Joanna Grossman, a Southern Methodist University law professor, stated that Herrera’s murder conviction could have been an error. This was despite her being informed by Nexstar Media Group. 8, a.k.a. 8 a.k.a. Grossman was correct. Ramirez or an unsupervised employee were remarkably ignorant.
S.B. 8 which became effective in September last year, specifically states that it doesn’t authorize any lawsuits against women who have had an abortion. The law also does not allow for criminal prosecution. AnyoneIt doesn’t change the state definition of criminal murdericide. Both these points were repeatedly stressed in seven months worth of legal and public debate about S.B. 8. Nexstar reports that Ramirez’s office “said it would not be providing any more commentary about the situation”—presumably to avoid further embarrassment.
The following are the PostNotes that Herrera was arrested by “even staunch pro-abortion activists”. John Seago is Texas Right to Life’s legislative director. He stated, “The Texas Heartbeat Act as well as other pro-life laws in Texas clearly prohibit criminal charges of pregnant women.” Texas Right to Life strongly opposes the use of public prosecutors to go outside the boundaries of Texas’ well-crafted and prudently drafted policies.
It PostAccording to reports, Ramirez called Herrera’s lawyer Saturday two days after she was arrested and 10 days following the indictment. She admitted that the murder charge against her had been an error. Ramirez said in a SMS to an acquaintance that she was sorry. “I can assure you, I did not mean to harm this young lady.”
It is possible to interpret Ramirez’s apology as meaning that he didn’t agree with the baseless murder accusation or that he wasn’t aware that “hurting this young lady” would result. This latter scenario seems completely implausible. However, Herrera was sent to jail by Ramirez, the grand jurors and by the attorney who brought the charges.