Maria Abigail Tiscareno

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Charge:	Child Abuse
Sentence:	Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing
Years Imprisoned:
Year Crime:	2003
Year Convicted:	2004
Year Cleared:	2005
U.S. State or Country of Crime:	Utah
County or Region of Crime:	Summit
City of Crime:	Park City
Result:	Judicially Exonerated
Summary of Case:	"Maria Abigail Tiscareno was wrongly convicted by a jury on October 28, 2004 of second degree felony child abuse for brain injuries suffered by an 18-month old boy in November 2003. Tiscareno was the owner of Abby's Day Care in Park City, Utah where she was carrying for the boy on November 14, 2003 when he began having trouble breathing and lost consciousness. She called 911 and a CT scan revealed hemorraging in the child's brain. Tiscareno told the police she gently shook the child to try and save his life. The child didn't die, but suffered permanent disabilities that included being unable to eat on his own. Tiscareno was charged with second-degree felony child abuse and during her trial the prosecution presented the expert medical testimony of two doctors that the child's injuries were caused by violent shaking. Tiscareno testified and denied doing anything causing harm to the child. After her conviction by a jury the 41-year-old Tiscareno, the mother of three children, was facing up to 15 years in prison. Before her sentencing her lawyer filed a motion for a new trial based on erroneous jury instructions and ineffective assistance of counsel. After filing that Tiscareno obtained a pathology report that hadn't been disclosed by the prosecution. The report supported the initial CT scan of the boy's brain that showed new bleeding on top of older bleeding. Based on the pathology report, Tiscareno filed a second motion for a new trial. The trial court granted the first motion for a new trial based on erroneous jury instructions -- and thus did not need to address the new medical evidence upon which the second new trial motion was based. Abby Tiscareno waived her right to a jury trial for her second trial that began on May 23, 2005. A medical expert testified that the first bleeding episode occurred 11 days before Tiscareno called 911 on November 14, and the prosecution presented no evidence she had anything to do with that incident. Third District Judge Deno Himonas found Tiscareno not guilty on May 26, 2005. After her acquittal she told reporters "It has been very hard. I was scared. I mean, it was very terrible." Tiscareno and her husband Guillermo Tiscareno filed a federal civil rights lawsuit that named several defendants, including the medical center where the child was taken and the doctors who testified for the prosecution. The district court denied the summary judgment motion by Dr. Frasier and IHC Health Services. On February 23, 2015 the Tenth Circuit Corut of Appeals reversed the district court's ruling on the basis "Dr. Frasier and IHC are entitled to qualified immunity because the summary judgment evidence does not reflect the violation of a clearly established constitutional right.""
Conviction Caused By:	Erroneous exper medical testimony.
Innocence Proved By:	Third District Judge Deno Himonas found Tiscareno not guilty on May 26 after her retrial.
Defendant Aided By:
Compensation Awarded:	No
Was Perpetrator Identified?
Age When Imprisoned:
Age When Released:
Sex:	Female
Skin/Ethnicity:	Hispanic
Information Source 1:	"Sitter freed on new evidence, By Stephen Hunt (staff writer), The Salt Lake Tribune, May 28, 2005, p. B1"
Information Location 1:	http://www.brownbradshaw.com/uploads/Tiscareno%202005-05-28%20SLTrib.pdf
Information Source 2:	"Tiscareno v. Frasier, No. No. 13-4156 and Tiscareno v. IHC Health Services, No. 13-4161 (10th Cir., 2-23-2015) (Reversing district court's denial of summary judgment for defendants Dr. Frasier and IHC Health Services)"
Information Location 2:
Information Source 3:	"Tiscareno v. Anderson, No. 09-4238 (10th Cir., 3-14-2011)"
Information Location 3:	http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-10th-circuit/1559283.html
Information Source 4:	" Tiscareno et al v. Frasier et al, No. 2:07-cv-00336-CW-DBP (USDC UT (Central))"
Information Location 4:
Information Source 5:
Information Location 5:
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Maria Abigail Tiscareno

Charge:

Child Abuse

Sentence:

Exonerated After Conviction But Prior to Sentencing

Years Imprisoned:

Year Crime:

2003

Year Convicted:

2004

Year Cleared:

2005

U.S. State or Country of Crime:

Utah

County or Region of Crime:

Summit

City of Crime:

Park City

Result:

Judicially Exonerated

Summary of Case:

Conviction Caused By:

Erroneous exper medical testimony.

Innocence Proved By:

Third District Judge Deno Himonas found Tiscareno not guilty on May 26 after her retrial.

Defendant Aided By:

Compensation Awarded:

No

Was Perpetrator Identified?

Age When Imprisoned:

Age When Released:

Sex:

Female

Skin/Ethnicity:

Hispanic

Information Source 1:

"Sitter freed on new evidence, By Stephen Hunt (staff writer), The Salt Lake Tribune, May 28, 2005, p. B1"

Information Location 1:

http://www.brownbradshaw.com/uploads/Tiscareno%202005-05-28%20SLTrib.pdf

Information Source 2:

"Tiscareno v. Frasier, No. No. 13-4156 and Tiscareno v. IHC Health Services, No. 13-4161 (10th Cir., 2-23-2015) (Reversing district court's denial of summary judgment for defendants Dr. Frasier and IHC Health Services)"

Information Location 2:

Information Source 3:

"Tiscareno v. Anderson, No. 09-4238 (10th Cir., 3-14-2011)"

Information Location 3:

http://caselaw.findlaw.com/us-10th-circuit/1559283.html

Information Source 4:

" Tiscareno et al v. Frasier et al, No. 2:07-cv-00336-CW-DBP (USDC UT (Central))"

Information Location 4:

Information Source 5:

Information Location 5:

Book About Case:

Book Information:

Book About Case (2):

Book Information (2):

Movie About Case:

Comments About Case: