"Nueces
County District Attorney Mark Gonzalez intends to dismiss Hannah
Overton's case and to include language that declares her innocent in
the death of a 4-year-old child she and her husband were adopting. Overton's
2007 capital murder conviction gained international attention because
it was widely believed she was wrongfully convicted. A documentary about
Overton, "Until Proven Innocent," is making rounds at film festivals
and was picked up by Investigation Discovery last year. Andrew
Burd died in 2006 from high levels of sodium in his body. Prosecutors
sought to prove Overton force-fed Andrew a mixture of spicy seasoning
and water. Defense lawyers argued Andrew's death was accidental, the
result of a rare medical condition that caused him to have high levels
of sodium. A Nueces County jury convicted Overton because they
believed she delayed seeking medical care for Andrew. She was
automatically sentenced to life in prison without parole. After seven years in prison, the state's highest criminal court
overturned her conviction in 2014, citing her trial lawyers were
ineffective, and sent her case back to Nueces County. In 2015,
then-District Attorney Mark Skurka dropped the case against her but
refused to declare her innocent, which prohibited her from accessing
state compensation funds for wrongly convicted people. Gonzalez's
action will entitle Overton to state funds and protect her from being
retried on the charge. Gonzalez said he plans to make the announcement
during the Corpus Christi Bar Association's Law Day Luncheon on
Wednesday. "My primary
concern, in any case, is doing the right thing, no matter the optics,
the political pressure, or any external considerations," Gonzalez said
in a written statement. "I reviewed the case against Mrs. Overton and
concluded that she was actually innocent of the charges and did not
receive a fair trial. For that fact alone, the dismissal is
appropriate."
http://www.caller.com/story/news/crime/2017/05/09/nueces-county-da-dismiss-overton-case-declare-woman-innocent/101471030/