El Salvador court absolves woman accused of killing her stillborn child
AUGUST 19, 2019 / 2:04 PM / UPDATED 16 MINUTES AGO
CIUDAD DELGADO, El Salvador (Reuters) - A Salvadoran court absolved a woman previously convicted of aggravated homicide after she gave birth to a stillborn child, the woman’s lawyer Bertha DeLeon said on Monday, in a closely watched retrial that overturns a 30-year prison sentence.
Defendant Evelyn Hernandez, 21, has already served three years of the sentence handed down after prosecutors said she had induced an abortion.
The case had attracted international attention.
“Thank God, justice was done,” Hernandez, in tears, told a cheering crowd outside the court building.
Any intentional termination of a pregnancy in El Salvador can be prosecuted as a crime, including stillbirths due to home delivery or abortions induced because of medical emergencies, with some women receiving up to 40 years in prison.
More:
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-el-salvador-abortion/el-salvador-court-absolves-woman-accused-of-killing-her-stillborn-child-idUSKCN1V91Q2?rpc=401&
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20 August 2019
A 21-year-old woman acquitted of the aggravated murder of her baby in El Salvador has called on her supporters to fight for others like her.
A judge said there was no evidence that Evelyn Hernández had killed her child, which was found dead in the septic tank of the toilet where she gave birth.
His ruling contradicted that of a 2017 trial, during which Ms Hernández was found guilty and sentenced to 30 years.
Women's groups hope the ruling will set a precedent for other jailed women.
"I ask that justice and freedom be done for the other women," Ms Hernández said, referring to at least 17 women who are currently in jail over similar cases.
More:
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-latin-america-49406029
