SAN ANTONIO, Texas

Ramirez, Kristie Mayhugh, 40, and Cassandra Rivera, 38, along with Anna Vasquez, 38, were found guilty of molesting two girls in alleged assaults in 1994 that an expert has described as reminiscent of the Satanic ritual day care abuse cases of the 1980s and early 1990s. The women, known nationally as the “San Antonio 4,” always maintained their innocence. On Monday, after the district attorney agreed the group was entitled to a new trial on the grounds that recent scientific advances undermined testimony pivotal to their convictions, Ramirez, Mayhugh and Rivera were released on bond. Vasquez was paroled last year.

“I couldn’t sleep last night. I couldn’t believe I was here,” said Rivera, a mother of two who met her granddaughter for the first time Monday night. Rivera said she found herself staring at her 20-something son and daughter, who were just 9 and 8 years old when she first went to prison nearly 14 years ago. “I can’t believe they’re with me,” she said.

John Brecher / NBC News

Liabilty attorney in texas

That finding was debunked on Monday, when the Bexar County Criminal District Attorney’s office and Ware said that scientific advances undermined the doctor’s testimony, leading to the three women’s release from prison. The women now await a decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on whether to grant them a new trial. If that happens, the district attorney will decline to prosecute them, and their convictions would be overturned, said Rico Valdez, the chief assistant criminal attorney who oversees the office’s post-conviction review.

The new scientific information was allowed to be presented under a “junk science” law passed in Texas earlier this year that gives defendants the chance to submit findings that may cast doubt on their conviction.

The agreement between the attorneys was a huge breakthrough for the women, who had felt they were railroaded at trial, partly because they are lesbians.

Cassandra Rivera hugs her son Michael on Nov. 19, his 22nd birthday and her first full day out of prison in nearly 14 years. “I made it in time for your birthday,” she told him Monday just after her release.

Vasquez and Rivera, who entered prison three years after Ramirez, said a woman in their initial unit wanted to jump them until she heard their side of the story: they told her they were falsely accused.

The group ended up doing the same with other inmates, but some still called them child molesters, Rivera said. “I still walked with my head held high because I knew I was innocent. We were innocent,” she said. “We know what happened, and the truth is going to eventually come out.”

The women, except for Ramirez, could have avoided prison. Plea deals were offered, but they refused to accept them on the grounds that they were innocent. They could have left prison earlier, too, if they agreed to participate in a sex offender treatment program, which they all rejected.

http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/11/19/21540535-san-antonio-4-speak-out-after-prison-release-were-actually-innocent?lite&ocid=msnhp&pos=1

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Our lawyers know that insurance companies use many different criteria in setting the cost of insurance policies for drivers. The safety features of the car a person drives, a person’s age, a person’s martial status, a person’s gender, and the driving record of the insurance applicant are all considered when an insurer quotes a policy.

Some factors that most people agree should not be considered, however, include income, education and career status. In June of 2012, 1,010 adult Americans responding to a survey were against insurance companies counting either educational status or occupation in setting insurance rates. In fact, 68 percent of those who responded disagreed with the use of education as a factor and 65 percent felt that insurance companies shouldn’t consider education.
Unfortunately, insurance companies aren’t listening to the public. In fact, a recent study conducted by the Consumer Federation of America has revealed that insurance companies are charging lower income and less educated people significantly more for their car insurance.

Are Lower-Income People Being Priced Out of the Car Insurance Market?

The Consumer Federation of America secured quotes from many of the largest insurance companies in the United States. When obtaining quotes, all variables were kept the same except adjustments were made to career, income and education. The results were startling as there was a vast difference in what educated, higher income professionals were being charged as compared with lower income workers.

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The Truth About Car Accident Insurance Adjusters And Getting Reimbursement

An insurance adjuster is really a trained professional who operates on behalf of your insurance company. Not you. Theyre employed to be able to hammer out rates and settlements in favor of their employer and oftentimes attempt to intimidate accident victims into accepting significantly less than they deserve. In employing very selective questioning and negotiation tactics, insurance adjusters might use your own words against you to guarantee a lowball payment or perhaps worse, denying your payment altogether. Santa Ana, California automobile accident injury lawyers are extremely knowledgeable about their practices See: Read More which allows them to help ensure you get the compensation you deserve by taking on these insurance adjusters head-to-head.

Vehicle accidents are traumatic and the resulting injuries may be traumatic. You most likely desire to simply receive the compensation you’ll need to cover your losses, which could include medical expenses, lost wages and property damages. You’ll want to be sure the negligent individual or business who caused the accident is held accountable. The very last thing you probably want to do is relive the accident. When the negligent drivers insurance adjuster contacts you, they want you to do just that. Whilst some may possibly be polite and others may possibly be rude, when they interview you or request a statement, their only purpose is finding information that can be used against you. Remember, an insurance adjusters job is always to save their company money at all costs – including your own. Since the stakes are so high, talking to a trained car accident lawyer in Santa Ana before talking to an insurance adjuster might be the improvement in your case.
How a Car Wreck Injury Attorney Can Assist You

After suffering a personal injury because of a negligent driver, its not easy to know what to do. Insurance adjusters and attorneys will pry away for information while youre looking to pay attention to your own recovery. All that theyre looking to find is just one mistake which can help hold you to blame for the accident. Experienced vehicle accident lawyers have an understanding of the tactics that insurance carriers use to intimidate injury victims, and theyre happy to communicate with insurance adjusters in your stead. Should you desire, you can also refer the insurance adjuster to your attorney in lieu of dealing with them. Concentrate on your recovery instead while a car accident lawyer fights just for you.

Often, insurance providers and insurance adjusters will dispute your claim and take every possible step needed to keep your compensation at a minimum. Even if you understand that you werent the individual responsible, thats not what insurance adjusters care about. Sometimes, theyll make an attempt to shift the blame to you, other drivers, or even bicyclists or pedestrians. Thats not right. Contacting an automobile accident lawyer in Santa Ana, CA before engaging with a negligent drivers insurance company can ensure that youre not wrongfully blamed for an accident and provided the compensation that you deserve.

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Bicycle riding has become increasingly popular in recent years as a means of dealing with high traffic in urban areas and as an alternative to cars as gas prices have gone up and concerns about pollution have persisted. Many cities are adopting bicycle sharing programs in order to make biking easier. Recently, YNN Austin announced that the city of Austin, Texas will be moving forward with a bicycle sharing program.

Source: http://www.belolaw.com/posts/focus-on-bike-safety-essential-as-austin-moves-forward-with-bike-sharing-programs/

Our Austin family lawyers know that a bike sharing program could encourage more people to take up riding and could increase the number of bicyclists on the roads. In New York City, a bike-sharing program led to riders traveling more than 1.5 million miles in just the first month of the program. While it is great that bike sharing can increase convenience and making riding a more popular option, more bicyclists on the road also means a greater chance of bike accidents happening. As a result, cyclists and drivers need to be aware of the risks of crashes and need to take safety precautions to prevent accidents.

Austin Moving Forward with Bike Sharing Plan

The new bike-sharing program approved by the Austin City Council will result in hundreds of bicycles being made available for public use around town. An agreement has been entered into with B-Cycle to purchase an estimated $2 million worth of bicycles, kiosks and computer software to manage the new sharing program.

The program will allow riders to have an annual or monthly membership or to rent a bike on a daily basis. Estimates indicate that there will be about 10 different stations around town where bicyclists can rent and return bikes. The program will start with 100 bicycles and will continue to expand. By the spring of 2014, the next phase of the project will result in a total of 40 kiosk locations and 400 available bicycles.

Bike Safety is Key injuries and deaths have resulted in family Divorce See: Divorce Lawyer Austin Texas
Cyclists are excited about the new bike-sharing program, but it is important that both bike riders and drivers do everything possible to avoid the risk of bike accidents with more riders on the road.

For drivers, this means:
Checking for bike riders and yielding the right-of-way as required.
Refraining from dangerous behaviors such as speeding, drunk or drowsy driving, and driving while distracted. All of these behaviors could lead to an accident with a bike rider.
Leaving enough space between yourself and cyclists. Aggressive driving causes accidents.

For bicycle riders, safety efforts can include:
Wearing bright colors to be seen more easily and using reflective material when riding after dark.
Obeying lane markings and all rules of the road.
Riding in bicycle lanes whenever possible and always riding with traffic.
Communicating with drivers by using hand signals and ensuring that you make eye contact so drivers can see you on the roads.

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