BACKGROUND: From a previous post of this Blog (August 15, 2025): (Link Below): 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: "In terms of the significance of a finding of actual innocence by the Court of Criminal Appeals, that can't be overstated." Vanessa Potkin, attorney for the Innocence Project told the American-Statesman. "It is extraordinarily rare for wrongly convicted people to have their convictions overturned because of a finding of actual innocence. It speaks to the strength of the evidence that no crime occurred in this case. It was a tragic accident."
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PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "(District Attorney) Garza said in a statement: "Carmen Mejia was convicted of a crime for which the Court of Criminal Appeals now recognizes she is actually innocent. By prosecuting an innocent woman, this office only compounded the tragedy of a baby's death. We look forward to ensuring justice is done once the case is returned to our office."
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STORY: "She spent 20 years in prison for a baby's death. Texas' highest court says she's innocent", by Reporters Austin Sanders and Tony Plohetski; Published by The American-Statesman, on January 23, 2025..."Austin Sanders has covered public safety in Austin for over six years, with a focus o.n shifting trends in policing practices, civilian oversight of law enforcement, and new developments in how cities handle emergency medical services and fire response."..."Tony Plohetski is a national award-winning journalist whose reporting is featured in print, digital and television platforms. He has chronicled some of Texas' most significant stories, and his investigative and accountability reporting has led to indictments and prompted new state laws. He joined the Austin American-Statesman in 2000 and since 2013, he has worked in partnership with KVUE, where he is the station’s senior reporter. Plohetski was the lead reporter for the Statesman’s groundbreaking coverage of the 2022 Uvalde school shooting that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize Gold Medal for public service."
SUB-HEADING: "The Criminal Court of Appeals declared Carmen Meija actually innocent, clearing the 2005 Travis County conviction and paving the way for restitution."
PHOTO CAPTION: "Carmen Mejia, shown in court Sept. 27, 2005, was convicted and sentenced to life in prison in the 2003 death of 10-month-old Abelardo Casiano, who suffered fatal burns in scalding bathwater."
GIST: "In a highly unusual decision, the state's highest criminal court has exonerated Carmen Meija of the infanticide that resulted in her conviction from a Travis County jury in 2005.
The highly conservative Texas Criminal Court of Appeals issued an opinion Thursday declaring that Meija was "actually innocent" in the killing of 10-month-old Abelardo Casiano, an infant she was babysitting at the time.
The rare decision by the high court affirms a prior decision by the trial court in which Meija was convicted and clears the way for the woman, who has spent the past two decades in prison, to apply for restitution from the state.
Over the past two years, attorneys for Meija have argued in post-conviction hearings that prosecutors introduced false and misleading testimony at trial and newly available scientific methods proved that Casiaono, who was submerged in a bathtub full of scalding water, died by accident.
Travis County District Attorney Jose Garza, elected in 2020 partly on a commitment to clear the names of wrongly convicted people, was sympathetic to Meija's claims.
"The trial court has, among other things, determined that [Meija] has established by clear convincing evidence that she is actually innocent of all three counts," justices wrote in the opinion. "We agree that [Meija] has established that she is actually innocent."
Meija is currently being held at Travis County's jail in Del Valle, where she was transferred from state prison. Her case will now head back to Travis County for prosecutors to decide how they will proceed.
"In terms of the significance of a finding of actual innocence by the Court of Criminal Appeals, that can't be overstated." Vanessa Potkin, attorney for the Innocence Project told the American-Statesman. "It is extraordinarily rare for wrongly convicted people to have their convictions overturned because of a finding of actual innocence. It speaks to the strength of the evidence that no crime occurred in this case. It was a tragic accident."
Garza said in a statement: "Carmen Mejia was convicted of a crime for which the Court of Criminal Appeals now recognizes she is actually innocent. By prosecuting an innocent woman, this office only compounded the tragedy of a baby's death. We look forward to ensuring justice is done once the case is returned to our office."
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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