Originally published in the San Antonio Current. Since her release from prison, wrongfully convicted member of the “San Antonio Four” Anna Vasquez has dedicated her life to preventing injustices akin to what she suffered, most notably serving as the director of outreach for the Innocence Project of Texas. As of Wednesday, she will now be…
DreamWeek Celebrates Seventh Anniversary With Over 200 Events
Now in its seventh year, the DreamWeek Summit, which this year takes place from January 11 to 26, is a series of events that focus on fostering “the free exchange of ideas on universal issues affecting the human race.” The ultimate goal of DreamWeek is to advance “the voices of tolerance, equality and diversity.” Over…
2018 In Review: Top 10 Local LGBT News Stories
1) Judge Rules Man Indicted in Death of Trans Woman Can Go Free Mark Daniel Lewis was indicted for manslaughter last year by a Bexar County grand jury for the death of Kenne McFadden, a local transgender woman, after he admitted to pushing her into the San Antonio River and failing to help her, thus…
Judge Expunges Record of Wrongly Convicted ‘San Antonio Four’
A Bexar County judge on Monday signed papers erasing the criminal histories of four women wrongly convicted in 1994 of sexually assaulting two girls, according to a WOAI-TV report. Elizabeth Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, Cassandra Rivera, and Anna Vasquez — known as the “San Antonio Four” during coverage of their high-profile case — were wrongly convicted…
2017 in Review: A Year in the Life of LGBT SA
A select month-by-month recap of stories about our community reported here and elsewhere in 2017. JANUARY Jeffrey James is Fiesta Cornyation’s King Anchovy LII The board of directors of Fiesta Cornyation, billed as “the raunchiest, cheapest event of Fiesta,” announced in January that this year’s King Anchovy LII was Jeffrey James, the proprietor of James…
‘San Antonio Four’ Documentary Named Finalist for Peabody Award
Originally published in the San Antonio Current. A documentary exploring the dramatic case of four San Antonio women wrongly convicted of gang-raping two children in the 1990s has been selected as a finalist for the prestigious Peabody Award. For years, Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four, by documentary filmmaker Deborah Esquenazi,…
2016 In Review: Top Ten Local News Stories
1. The Killing of SAPD Officer Benjamin Marconi The death of Officer Benjamin Marconi, who was shot in his patrol car in broad daylight outside police headquarters on November 20, stunned the citizens of San Antonio and the nation. Officer Marconi had scores of close friends in the LGBT community and supported the cause of…
The San Antonio Four Are Finally Declared “Actually Innocent”
Originally published in the San Antonio Current The claims were always fantastic – as in difficult to believe. The girls, ages 7 and 9, told police and child protection workers that a weeklong visit to their aunt’s Westside San Antonio apartment in the summer of 1994 had turned into a sadistic, orgy-like nightmare. They said…
“San Antonio Four” Documentary Will Get National TV Audience
Originally published in the San Antonio Current The dramatic case of four San Antonio women who say they were wrongly accused of gang-raping two children in the mid-1990s will air before a national TV audience this fall. Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four premiered at the Tribeca film festival last year…
SA4 Documentary to Screen at Tribeca Film Fest
A documentary about the trial and long-term imprisonment of four San Antonio Latina lesbians, who in 1994 were falsely accused of sexually abusing two pre-teen girls, will make its world premier at the Tribeca Film Festival in New York City on April 13. The film, Southwest of Salem: The Story of the San Antonio Four,…