Backpay for Exonerees

Abstract

Kristie Mayhugh, Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, and Anna Vasquez were convicted for sexually assaulting a child. The prosecution's evidence included testimony from children and an expert witness who testified that objective signs of abuse existed. But years later one of the witnesses-now an adult-admitted to having fabricated the story with her sister. Another witness came forward and testified that the child witnesses had been forced to testify against the defendants. Even the expert witness retracted her testimony, acknowledging that she had relied upon an unreliable methodology.