Convictions reinstated in Baby Brianna’s death

The New Mexico Supreme Court today reinstated the convictions, on all but one count, of the father and uncle 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 court today reinstated all but one conspiracy charge against each for the rape and killing of the girl, District Attorney Susana Martinez confirmed. She said her office and the attorney general had not yet read the opinion, so she didn’t have details.

“All I can say is, thank God that we don’t have to do this again,” Martinez said, referring to her intent to retry the case if the convictions were not reinstated.

The decision comes two months after the court reinstated the conviction of Brianna’s mother Stephanie Lopez. Her conviction, along with those of 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 the defendants could be admitted into evidence since they could not cross-examine each other because each invoked their right against self incrimination.

In the case of Stephanie Lopez, 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 her conviction.

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. Because the conspiracy convictions against the father and uncle were not reinstated, their sentences will likely be reduced slightly.

Martinez’s comment is certain to be part of a collective sigh of relief from the Las Cruces community in response to today’s news. 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 last year reopened old wounds and further shocked the community.