Jennifer Stephenson

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Charge:	Child Abandonment
Sentence:	5 years probation
Years Imprisoned:	0.5
Year Crime:	2010
Year Convicted:	2011
Year Cleared:	2014
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	New Mexico
County or Region of Crime:	Santa Fe
City of Crime:	Santa Fe
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Jennifer Stephenson was wrongly convicted of child abandonment in Santa Fe County, New Mexico. Stephenson's prosecution was based on a dresser falling on her 2-year-old son Isaiah in the middle of the night of January 28, 2010 that she didn't learn about it until the next morning around 7 am when the child's father, Anthony Apodaca, went into Isaiah's bedroom that he shared with his 1-year-old sister, after he heard whimpering. The accident caused by Isaiah climbing on the dresser that was next to his bed, was believed to have occurred before her husband arrived home from work around 2 am. The child was taken to the emergency room and he suffered injuries to his legs. When questioned by the police Stephenson's husband told authorities he didn't hear any crying from the child's room when he arrived home, and Stephenson also told the police she didn't hear any crying. The jury acquitted her of child abuse, while convicting her of second-degree child abandonment causing great bodily harm. Apodaca, 27, pled guilty in December 2010 to third-degree felony child-abuse charge and testified for the state at Stephenson's trial. Apodaca was sentenced to three years probation as part of his plea agreement. Stephenson was jailed for 6 months while awaiting trial since she was unable to pay her $1 million cash bail. She faced up to 9 years in prison for her child abandonment conviction, but on March 4, 2011 District Judge Michael Vigil sentenced her to five years probation, but she could serve up to 9 years in prison if she violated the terms of her probation. On November 18, 2014 the New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed Stephenson's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence she commited child abandonment because she never left the apartment while Isaiah was in his bedroom, and remanded the case to the trial court for dismissal of her conviction and sentence."
Conviction Caused By:	Jury erred convicting her of child abandonment with no evidence she committed that crime.
Innocence Proved By:	"On November 18, 2014 the New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed Stephenson's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence she commited child abandonment, and remanded the case to the trial court for dismissal of her conviction and sentence."
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:	20
Age When Released:	21
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:
Information Source 1:	"State of New Mexico v. Jennifer Stephenson, No. 31,273 (NM Ct. of Appeals, 11-18-2014)"
Information Location 1:	"http://www.nmcompcomm.us/nmcases/nmca/slips/CA31,273.pdf"
Information Source 2:	"Santa Fe Couple Arrested, Accused Of Child Abuse, By Staff writer, KOAT-TV (Albuquerque, NM), February 11, 2010"
Information Location 2:	http://www.koat.com/Santa-Fe-Couple-Arrested-Accused-Of-Child-Abuse/6143024
Information Source 3:	"District judge: Pair in child abuse case has 'no business being parents', By Geoff Grammer (Staff writer), The New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM), March 4, 2011"
Information Location 3:	http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/district-judge-pair-in-child-abuse-case-has-no-business/article_240e4d26-40cf-543d-a2df-43141d190d92.html
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Jennifer Stephenson

Charge:

Child Abandonment

Sentence:

5 years probation

Years Imprisoned:

0.5

Year Crime:

2010

Year Convicted:

2011

Year Cleared:

2014

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

New Mexico

County or Region of Crime:

Santa Fe

City of Crime:

Santa Fe

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Jury erred convicting her of child abandonment with no evidence she committed that crime.

Innocence Proved By:

"On November 18, 2014 the New Mexico Court of Appeals reversed Stephenson's conviction on the basis the prosecution introduced insufficient evidence she commited child abandonment, and remanded the case to the trial court for dismissal of her conviction and sentence."

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

20

Age When Released:

21

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Information Source 1:

"State of New Mexico v. Jennifer Stephenson, No. 31,273 (NM Ct. of Appeals, 11-18-2014)"

Information Location 1:

"http://www.nmcompcomm.us/nmcases/nmca/slips/CA31,273.pdf"

Information Source 2:

"Santa Fe Couple Arrested, Accused Of Child Abuse, By Staff writer, KOAT-TV (Albuquerque, NM), February 11, 2010"

Information Location 2:

http://www.koat.com/Santa-Fe-Couple-Arrested-Accused-Of-Child-Abuse/6143024

Information Source 3:

"District judge: Pair in child abuse case has 'no business being parents', By Geoff Grammer (Staff writer), The New Mexican (Santa Fe, NM), March 4, 2011"

Information Location 3:

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/local_news/district-judge-pair-in-child-abuse-case-has-no-business/article_240e4d26-40cf-543d-a2df-43141d190d92.html

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