Evelyn Hernández Acquitted of Murder After Delivering Stillborn in El Salvador

Two years after being charged for the death of her stillborn baby, Evelyn Hernández was cleared of murder charges.
 
The 21-year-old was charged with aggravated murder in 2017 and sentenced to 30 years in prison. In 2016, her stillborn baby was found dead in a septic tank of the toilet she fainted on while unknowingly giving birth. She said she had been raped and had not known that she was pregnant.   
 
Earlier this year, her case was brought to retrial and on August 19 she was acquitted of all charges. A judge said there was no evidence that Hernández had killed the child. She has spent 33 months in jail.
 
“Thank God justice was done,” she stated. “I also thank you who have been here and I also thank all the international and national countries. I also thank my mother for always being with me in everything.”
 
In 2015, there were more than 1,100 cases of sexual violence against woman reported in El Salvador. The country also has some of the strictest anti-abortion laws. Woman in El Salvador face a minimum of two to eight years in jail for receiving an abortion under any circumstances.
 
Dozens of woman have faced murder charges after suffering a miscarriage or stillbirth.

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