Wanda Vázquez discusses the case of Ashley Torres Feliciano with the Innocence Project

the governor Wanda Vázquez Garced and lawyer Julio Fontanet, founder of the Innocence Project of Puerto Rico, discussed today details of the clemency order of Ashley Marie Torres Feliciano, the young mother, a victim of domestic violence, who was sentenced to 111 years after being convicted as a co-perpetrator of a murder for which the material perpetrator of the facts served less than 11 years in prison.

Fontanet indicated that the meeting lasted just over an hour and that they reviewed details of the file prepared by the Junta de Llibertat Sota Paraula on the clemency order. The lawyer did not report what exactly to discuss as much of the content is confidential.

“It was a very good conversation. The governor was receptive to this and other meritorious cases. My impression is that she is aware of power (of clemency) and that she will handle it prudently and that any decision she makes will be well-founded, “Fontanet told El Nou Dia.

“We are optimistic. It is an extremely meritorious case that is generating consensus,” the lawyer added.

The governor was the one who quoted Fontanet in La Fortalesa and announced the meeting with messages on his social media. “Meeting with Lic. Julio Fontanet of the Innocence Project regarding several cases. Truth and justice have always been my north,” the outgoing president posted on the social network Twitter.

Fontanet, for his part, expressed his confidence that Vázquez Garced, with his background as a prosecutor and head of the Office of the Women’s Attorney can understand the injustice in the disparity of sentences and assess the context of the case of a teenage mother, sexually assaulted since she was 14 and subjected to a pattern of gender-based violence.

“Ahsley was sexually assaulted and abused and her conduct needs to be interpreted in this context and given her age at this time of 16 years,” Fontanet said. The inmate is currently 28 years old and is in the Bayamón Correctional Complex.

The clemency order is the latest attempt by Torres Feliciano, who has denied being a co-perpetrator, to get out of prison.

The case dates back to February 21, 2009. This Saturday, in the communal center of Altures de Peñuelas II, the family of Torres Feliciano celebrated a birthday.

She went to the event alongside Steven QUIRINDONGO, who was her partner and is the parent of her son, who was two years old at the time of the events. She was 16 years old.

During the celebration, she argues with QUIRINDONGO, who hits her several times on the outskirts of the venue. This was part of a pattern of violence that had been manifesting itself for years. Her brothers, upon learning of what has happened, confront the aggressor and the fight ensues. Ashley’s brother, Nelson Torres Feliciano, died the next day from his injuries.

Six relatives testified that, in the middle of the fight, Ashley passed a knife – which had a head about six inches – to QUIRINDONGO to stab his brother. Relatives who accused her also said she beat her brother in the middle of the fight. It is safe to say that she was the one who stabbed her brother.

After the incident, QUIRINDONGO fled to the United States and was found living in Arizona with a false identification, it was reported.

When Project Innocence took over from Ashley, they found that the Justice Department suppressed exculpatory evidence so they proceeded to seek a new trial. This request reached the Supreme Court, which, in a split decision, understood that the evidence in dispute was cumulative so it was not enough to grant a new trial.

The determination was announced by the then Secretary of Justice and now Governor, Wanda Vázquez Garced. “A jury unanimously found Torres Feliciano guilty of co-authoring the murder of his brother. The evidence presented as new was handed over to the defense at trial for consideration. It is not exculpatory. “, Vázquez Garced stated in a written statement issued in 2018.

Fontanet indicated that he has also advocated for another clemency order which he preferred not to disclose publicly.