Nearly 20 years after being wrongfully convicted for a crime they didn’t commit, the San Antonio Four have been declared innocent. Elizabeth Ramirez, Cassandra Rivera, Kristie Mayhugh, and Anna Vasquez are finally getting their names cleared. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has fully exonerated the subjects of Deborah S. Esquenazi’s award-winning documentary “Southwest of Salem: The San Antonio Four,” a press release has announced. The four Latina lesbians were charged and found guilty of gang-raping two little girls in San Antonio, Texas.
Esquenazi’s feature made its World Premiere at Tribeca Film Festival in April of this year, and has helped bring the case — and this miscarriage of justice — to light.
“‘Southwest of Salem’ is a true crime documentary about the bizarre trials and wrongful convictions of the so-called ‘San Antonio Four’… who were indicted in the mid-90’s for the alleged gang rape of two little girls,” Esquenazi told Women and Hollywood. “The film is a re-investigation into their case; we also tackle some deep-seated homophobia and misogyny at the root of the highly-sexualized trials of the alleged ringleader of this crime, Liz Ramirez. By the time I came in to re-investigate their case, the women had been languishing in prison for nearly a decade.”
Esquenazi said that she hoped audiences would “catch some of the underlying mythologies and intersectional themes that play out [throughout the film], particularly in the way in which the women were portrayed by overzealous prosecutors and how they were represented during a cultural hysteria — the Satanic sexual abuse panic of the 1980's and 1990’s.” She emphasized, “My hope, more than anything, is that this massive injustice sticks with people as they leave the theater and they will be inspired and become impassioned to join our exoneration campaign.”
“This is such a great example that shows how documentary film can truly make a difference,” the press release notes. The doc, which put the case on many people’s radars, offered compelling evidence about the innocence of these women, and illustrated how they were victimized on the basis of their sexual orientation and gender.
“Southwest of Salem” won awards at fests such as Frameline and Outfest, and was recently honored with the Broadcast Film Critics Association’s Critic’s Choice Award for Best First Feature. The critically acclaimed film broke records on Investigation Discovery network when it premiered in October and received over 1 million views. “Southwest of Salem” opened in theaters in September.
“The documentary, along with articles written in Rolling Stone, The Texas Observer, and the New York Times, was cited in the opinion section of the court’s decision,” the press release states.
“This is a stunning victory, not only for the San Antonio Four, but for gay rights,” said Esquenazi. “I couldn’t have imagined that six years ago, with nothing more than a camera and shoe-leather journalistic persistence, that this day would come. It shows the power of art. It shows that even with no cultural capital, power, or resources, we can make great change.”
If you’re in the market for more true crime material by and/or about women, you may want to check out Moira Demos and Laura Ricciardi’s “Making a Murderer,” or “Amanda Knox,” both of which are available on Netflix. “The Killing Season,” a new docuseries co-created by Rachel Mills, examines the murders of sex workers. As Women and Hollywood’s TV critic Sara Stewart wrote, “In one interview after another with the family members of victims, we learn that police routinely failed to investigate the disappearances of women who were known prostitutes.” The show premiered on A&E on November 21 and episodes are available to stream on the network’s website.
