One conviction reinstated in Baby Brianna’s death

The New Mexico Supreme Court today reinstated the conviction of the mother of Baby Brianna, the 5-month-old girl whose 2002 death shocked the Las Cruces community and led to tougher state penalties for child killers.

The decision, which you can read by clicking here, was announced by the attorney general’s office. The court’s justices were unanimous in agreeing that Stephanie Lopez’s rights were violated, but split 3-2 on whether the error was harmless, with Justices Petra Maes, Pamela Minzer and Patricio Serna saying the error was harmless and reinstating the conviction.

The convictions of Brianna’s mother Stephanie Lopez, father Andy Walters and Uncle Steven Lopez were overturned by the Court of Appeals in 2006. That court found that their right to confront and cross examine their accusers had been violated because they were tried together.

The attorney general’s office appealed the decision.

That appellate court ruling stemmed from a 2004 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that said defendants who accused each other had to be tried separately so they could be called as witnesses in each others’ cases without giving up their right to remain silent in their own cases.

The complex issue surrounded whether statements from Steven Lopez and Andy Walters that incriminated Stephanie Lopez could be admitted into evidence since she could not cross-examine the two because they invoked their right against self incrimination.

The Supreme Court agreed with the appellate court that the admission of the statements violated Stephanie Lopez’s right to confront her accuser. However, the court also found that the error was “harmless” because the jury would have convicted her even without the statements, and that’s why it reinstated the conviction.

Justices Edward Chavez and Richard Bosson dissented, saying the admission of the statements was not a harmless error.

The court has not yet ruled on whether to reinstate the convictions of Steven Lopez and Walters.

Brianna’s father and uncle were sentenced to 57 and 51 years in prison, respectively, for raping and killing the girl. Her mother received 27 years for negligence that led to the girl’s death.

The case was one of seven child deaths in a four-year span in Doña Ana County that shocked the community and led to a toughening of state laws regarding child abuse resulting in death. Brianna, whose case was by far the most egregious, became the icon for the movement to toughen the laws.

The overturning of the convictions further shocked the community and reopened wounds that had not yet healed. Prosecutors have said they’ll retry any of the cases in which the Supreme Court doesn’t reinstate convictions.

Comments are closed.