Consulate Seeks to Facilitate Social Reintegration of Mexican Exonerated and Released After 14 Years of Imprisonment

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) of the Government of Mexico, reported that Anthony Bedolla, a Mexican national exonerated and released on August 22 through the Legal Defense Program for Mexican Nationals in Criminal Matters in the United States (DPM), after being wrongfully imprisoned for 14 years, will continue receiving support from the consular network to facilitate his social reintegration.

After meeting with the Consul of Mexico in Indianapolis, Maki Teramoto Sakamoto, Bedolla obtained his ordinary passport, an identification document that will allow him to carry out other consular and immigration procedures.

Additionally, as part of this initial stage of consular assistance, he will receive immediate support in health, education, housing, and employment.

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“Mr. Bedolla will undergo a medical checkup and enroll in courses that will allow him to continue his academic and professional development, through Health Windows, Financial Counseling, and Educational Guidance, with the support of an allied organization of the Mexican representation,” detailed an MFA statement.

Mexicans Are the Second Largest Group of Prisoners in the U.S.

According to data from the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP), out of approximately 160,000 inmates registered in various federal prisons in 2023, after Americans, the largest number of prisoners are Mexicans, representing more than 8% of the total incarcerated population in the U.S.

Meanwhile, Vanessa Calva Ruiz, General Director of Consular Protection and Strategic Planning at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, stated in an interview with El Heraldo USA that it is estimated that between 1% and 10% of individuals incarcerated in the U.S. are imprisoned for crimes they did not commit.

“Within this percentage, the system has typically been particularly discriminatory against people of color; African Americans and Latinos are among those who suffer these injustices,” she emphasized.

In this regard, Calva Ruiz noted that the Legal Defense Program for Mexican Nationals in Criminal Matters in the United States, conducted in coordination with the Justice Center of the Notre Dame Law School, through which Bedolla’s release was achieved, focuses on addressing cases of Mexican nationals who may have been wrongfully imprisoned or received excessive sentences, with an emphasis on the populations most vulnerable to injustice, such as Indigenous peoples, the LGBTQ+ community, and minors.

The diplomat also pointed out that there is no precise number of similar cases to Bedolla’s involving other Mexican nationals, as these are currently being reviewed to determine in which cases there are legal grounds and resources to intervene and prove their innocence.

In the meantime, efforts are being made to strengthen and structure the DPM in order to foster systemic change in the prosecution offices, ensuring that the criminal rights of the Mexican community are protected, due process is followed, and that there are more tools to assist individuals facing serious criminal cases.

Anthony Bedolla

• Bedolla was sentenced to 45 years in prison for criminal charges unjustly brought against him following an incident at a nightclub in Indianapolis, Indiana, in 2010.
• Subsequent investigations showed that Mr. Bedolla, who never admitted guilt, was not at the crime scene and was convicted based on false testimony.
• Anthony Bedolla was incarcerated for 14 years.
• He was released on Thursday, August 22, 2024, after being exonerated.
• Mr. Bedolla’s case is the first successful case under the DPM.

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