Woman Wrongfully Jailed for 22 Years Over Baby’s Bathwater Death Finally Gets Justice

A Texas woman who spent 22 years in prison after being wrongly convicted will not be deported following her exoneration, federal authorities said. She was wrongly accused of killing a 10-month-old infant she had been babysitting, who died in 2003.

Carmen Mejia, 54, of Austin Texas, spent 22 years in prison after she was wrongly convicted. On March 9, a judge dismissed the charges against her, declaring her “actually innocent” after new evidence emerged.

Mejia was convicted of murdering a 10-year-old infant who died after suffering from fatal burns. Authorities said, the burns occurred when the child was placed in scalding bathwater. However, new evidence later showed Mejia was not the person who placed the infant in the hot bathwater.

In a statement released by the Innocence Project and the Travis County District Attorney’s Office, Mejia was formally declared innocent on March 9. However, although Mejia’s conviction was overturned, she initially remained in custody because of an immigration detainer attached to the case, according to the Innocence Project.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security later confirmed the detainer would be lifted and Mejia would be allowed to remain in the United States following her exoneration. Mejia will remain in the United States and not be deported.

“In light of her conviction being overturned, she will be released from local custody, and ICE will lift the detainer,” the Department of Homeland Security said in a statement as reported by The New York Times and Texas Monthly. “Due to her exoneration, she is legally allowed to remain in the United States until her Temporary Protected Status expires."

Mejia came to the United States from Honduras in 1995 and previously had lawful permission to live and work in the country before her conviction, according to the Innocence Project.

She was convicted in 2005 and was sentenced to life in prison after a 10-month-old boy she was watching suffered severe burns in the bathwater at her home in Austin, Texas, in July 2003.

According to the Innocence Project, Mejia was home with her four children when the incident occurred. While she was nursing her youngest child, her oldest daughter attempted to bathe the 10-month-old infant the family was babysitting. The water heater in the family's rented home lacked safety features designed to prevent scald injuries.

The temperature of the bathwater reached 147.8 degrees Fahrenheit, the organization said. Within seconds of exposure to the water, the child suffered from third-degree burns and later died at a hospital.

At Mejia’s trial, an expert testified the burns would not have been possible unless an adult intentionally held the child under the hot water. However, post-conviction expert testimony concluded the injuries could have occurred from an accidental scalding.