USC Law Asks Gov. Schwarzenegger to Pardon Mother Who Served 23 Years in Prison and is Scheduled for Deportation
A woman, who spent 23 years in prison for a deadly arson fire she says she did not set, is scheduled to be released from prison on Thursday, and taken into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
(Media-Newswire.com) - A woman, who spent 23 years in prison for a deadly arson fire she says she did not set, is scheduled to be released from prison on Thursday, and taken into US Immigration and Customs Enforcement custody.
In an effort to block her deportation to Mexico, USC Law's Post-Conviction Justice Project ( PCJP ) is asking Gov. Schwarzenegger to pardon Rosie Sanchez and allow her to stay with her children in the United States. For the past decade, USC Law students, through the PCJP, have represented Sanchez.
Sanchez resided in the United States when a fire broke out in a competitor's clothing business in 1985 and resulted in the death of an individual who was asleep in the store. Although Sanchez was charged and convicted of first-degree murder and arson, she has maintained her innocence.
At her trial, the presiding judge said that, in his 59 years on the bench, Sanchez's case is one of the few times justice was not served.
Last week, Schwarzenegger upheld the parole board's recommendation to release Sanchez. This is one of the rare instances when Schwarzenegger has not blocked a prisoner's release on the Parole Board's first grant of parole.
WHO: Jennifer Farrell, second-year law student; Heidi Rummel, supervising attorney and USC Law professor; and Sanchez's four children are available for press interviews at USC Law.
Sanchez's children, who range in age from 27 to 31 years old, reside in Whittier, Norwalk, Anaheim and Riverside.
WHEN: 11 a.m., Thursday, March 18, on the front steps of USC Law.
WHERE: USC Gould School of Law, 699 Exposition Blvd., Los Angeles, 90089.
FURTHER DETAILS: Call Gilien Silsby at ( 213 ) 740-9690 or ( 213 ) 500-8673.
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