BACKGROUND: KVUE: "At the time of the incident in 2003, investigators said Mejia intentionally submerged the 10-month-old baby in scalding hot bath water. It was also alleged that to cover up her actions, she failed to promptly get the baby medical care afterward, resulting in his death. In 2005, Mejia was convicted of murder, injury to a child with serious bodily injury and injury to a child by omission. She was sentenced to life in prison with parole. According to the DA's office, at her trial, the primary scientific evidence presented by prosecutors was that the pattern of the burns indicated they were inflicted intentionally. State experts also testified that they believed that the evidence proved the scalding was intentional. The DA's office said the experts were a non-medical burn expert and the emergency room doctor who treated the child. Mejia's defense argued that older children who were present at the home at the time of the incident had attempted to give the baby a bath and that because the hot water gauge was set "dangerously high," the baby was burned when one of the older children accidentally turned the wrong handle. The DA's office said at a previous hearing, a witness who was a child at the time testified that she turned on the faucet when the baby was in the bathtub, and that when she did that, Mejia wasn't in the room. The DA's office said when given this new information, both original state experts swore affidavits that they could no longer say that the injuries were caused intentionally. The medical examiner who performed the autopsy on the child also reviewed the new information and changed her opinion on the manner of death from "homicide" to "accident." At Monday's hearing, the state presented the affidavits to the court. Two witnesses also testified: a medical expert on burn patterns and an expert in scalding injuries due to hot water heaters."
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QUOTE OF THE DAY: "Art Guerrero was the bailiff in the original trial. He recalls what Mejia was like then. "She cried the whole time, every day. She had her head down. She never raised her head at all until she was asked to speak or say something," he said. "It was very, very sad, sad to see." He had concerns about the original trial. "It was very, very hard for me because I was an employee of Travis County as a bailiff and I loved my job, didn't pay very much. I love what I did, and I had to struggle with what do I do? Who do I talk to that you can trust because how can you go against a judge?" he said. After he retired in 2015, he eventually reached out to the Innocence Project and later on, a review of the case was started. God works in mysterious ways, so one thing led to another, and before you know it, they're beginning to have these hearings here," he said."
STORY: "Woman accused of murdering baby in her care could be released after wrongful conviction: judge," by Reporter Angela Shen, published by Fox 7, on August 14, 2025. (Angela Shen joined FOX 7 as a reporter in March 2022. Before coming to FOX 7, she was a reporter at KFOR-TV in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. Prior to that, she was a reporter/MMJ at KVRR-TV in Fargo, North Dakota. She is from Albuquerque, NM, and she graduated from the University of New Mexico with a degree in mass communication/journalism in 2017. She also had the opportunity to intern in Washington, DC with Talk Media News, covering politics from the U.S. Capitol."
SUB-HEADING: "Judge believes woman was wrongfully convicted of murder."
SUB-HEADING: "A woman serving a life sentence in prison might gain back her freedom. She has been behind bars for two decades now, but a judge believes she was wrongfully convicted for murdering a baby."
The Brief
- A woman who has been in prison for two decades could be released after a judge said she was wrongfully convicted
- Carmen Mejia was convicted in 2005 of murder, injury to a child with serious bodily injury, and injury to a child by omission
- A bailiff in the original trial shared his concerns
GIST: "AUSTIN, Texas - A woman who has been in prison for two decades could soon be released.
Carmen Mejia was convicted in 2005 of murder, injury to a child with serious bodily injury, and injury to a child by omission. She has spent the past two decades in prison, separated from her children.
In 2003, she was caring for a 10-month-old and was accused of submerging the baby in scalding bath water as well as not getting him care soon enough.
In an emotional hearing, prosecutors admitted they were wrong, and the convictions were based on junk science and misleading testimony.
"It is clear that this was a wrongful conviction," the judge said at Thursday's hearing.
Concerns during original trial
Art Guerrero was the bailiff in the original trial. He recalls what Mejia was like then.
"She cried the whole time, every day. She had her head down. She never raised her head at all until she was asked to speak or say something," he said. "It was very, very sad, sad to see."
He had concerns about the original trial.
"It was very, very hard for me because I was an employee of Travis County as a bailiff and I loved my job, didn't pay very much. I love what I did, and I had to struggle with what do I do? Who do I talk to that you can trust because how can you go against a judge?" he said.
After he retired in 2015, he eventually reached out to the Innocence Project and later on, a review of the case was started.
"God works in mysterious ways, so one thing led to another, and before you know it, they're beginning to have these hearings here," he said.
Mejia initially told investigators different stories, afraid of being separated from her children.
"She was driven by fear," Shabel Castro, with the Innocence Project, said during the hearing.
In the original trial, multiple experts testified that it was an intentional homicide, but the defense didn't have equal experts testifying for their side.
Last year, one of Mejia's children, who was three-years-old during the incident, testified that she turned on the faucet when the baby was in the bathtub, and Mejia was not in the bathroom with the baby. A burn expert also testified. The water heater didn't have temperature protection. After reviewing all this, the medical examiner changed the manner of death from homicide to accident.
"The state cannot do anything but agree that Ms. Mejia was wrongfully convicted," the prosecution said during Thursday's hearing.
"You feel like you've been on a roller coaster, up and down, up and down. We still have one more hoop to go, one more journey, and that's with the Court Criminal Appeals," Guerrero said.
DA Jose Garza reacts
District Attorney Jose Garza met with Guerrero to thank him for speaking up.
"When people have faith in our criminal justice system, when they believe that it works correctly, when they believe it works well, it means that people are more likely to participate, and that makes all of us more safe. We've built a pretty extensive process that allows anyone, defense counsel, to come to us when they think they may have evidence of a wrongful conviction," he said. "This is about the human beings whose lives have been devastated by these errors. It's just so powerful for them to feel like they are getting some redemption, some relief and we're just, our hearts swell with happiness for them and for what we hope will be the eventual conclusion of this case."
What's next:
Mejia's case will now go before the Court of Criminal Appeals. They will determine if they agree with the judge's recommendation. Mejia will stay in custody for the time being.
The DA's office has the Conviction Integrity Unit, where they review possible wrongful convictions, including Mejia's. So far, five people have been exonerated from it."
The entire story can be read at:
PUBLISHER'S NOTE: I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic" section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com. Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.
SEE BREAKDOWN OF SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG, AT THE LINK BELOW: HL:
https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985
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FINAL WORD: (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases): "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."
Lawyer Radha Natarajan:
Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;
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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions. They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!
Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;
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