Foley Lawyers Represent Woman Released on Bond After 17 Years in Prison

A team of Foley lawyers, including Sara Ann Brown, Joanne Early, Rachel Kingery O’Neil, and Sadie Butler, is one of several groups collaborating to represent a Texas woman who has been freed on bond after serving 17 years in prison for the 2003 murder of a 21-month-old boy she was babysitting.

Rosa Olvera Jimenez, 38, was ordered released on bond during a hearing last week before Travis County District Judge Karen Sage.

Jimenez, who has always maintained her innocence, was convicted of murder in the choking death of Bryan Gutierrez, who died after swallowing a wad of paper towels while Jimenez was babysitting him.

The judge acted in response to a reinvestigation of the case by four medical experts who concluded that Gutierrez’s death was likely an accident. She found Jimenez’s due process rights were violated because prosecutors presented false and misleading testimony during her trial.

Her findings will now be sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to vacate Jimenez’s conviction and grant her a new trial or declare her innocent.

Courthouse News Service has a story about the case here.