Southwest Of Salem - The Story Of The San Antonio Four

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.

"Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four" exposess the nightmarish persecution of Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh and Anna Vasquez four Latina lesbians wrongfully convicted of gang-raping two young 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 the allegations surfaced.

Using the womens 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 during their losing criminal trials. 15 years into their journey, director Deborah S. Esquenazi captures an on-camera recantation by one of the initial victims, now 25 years old. 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.

The film culminates with the women being released from prison to await their searing new exoneration hearings in San Antonio. 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 low income lesbian women of color, these women have 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; those of lesbian women of color are largely under-reported. The film unravels the interplay of mythology, homophobia and prosecutorial fervor that led to their indictment.

Upplagd i sortimentet: 14 april, 2017