Interview:
Deborah S. Esquenazi,
director,
"Southwest of Salem:
The Story of the San Antonio Four"
Directed by the Austin-based Deborah S. Esquenazi, the documentary Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four chronicles the efforts to exonerate four Latina lesbians who were wrongly convicted of gang raping two girls in 1994. One of their accusers came forward in 2012 to recant her story but it wasn’t until last month that the women—Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Anna Vasquez, and Cassandra Rivera—were finally exonerated by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four traces the source of the false accusation of child rape that led to each women serving almost 15 years in prison for crimes they did not commit. The documentary also examines how much the women’s sexuality played a factor during their trials. Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four is now available for streaming at Investigationdiscoverygo.com. The documentary marks the directorial debut of Deborah S. Esquenazi. She is currently working on her next documentary, Certain Perversions, a follow-up to Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four.
Aired: Dec. 15, 2016 Web sites: http://www.southwestofsalem.com, https://www.investigationdiscoverygo.com/ and https://www.facebook.com/SanAntonioFour/ |
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