After fainting in an outhouse near her home in April 2016, her mother took her to the hospital, where
doctors found she had given birth. The body of a baby was later found in a toilet septic tank and the
teenager was arrested.
After she was prosecuted in July 2017, she served 33-months behind bars. But now a judge has overturned
her sentence on appeal, citing lack of evidence. Her lawyer Bertha DeLeon said on Monday that she had
been found not guilty.
Prosecutors nonetheless demanded a retrial and requested she serve 40-years. Paula Avila Guillden, from
the Women’s Equality Center, is one of the many activists who has worked with Evelyn Hernández during
the trial.
“Justice for Evelyn was delayed and denied for far too long”, she said. “But today the courts have
determined what we already knew to be true: Evelyn is innocent.”
El Salvador has had a total ban on abortion since 1998, including in cases of rape or incest. More than 20
women are currently in prison under charges of manslaughter, homicide, or aggravated homicide after
being accused of having an abortion, according to the Women’s Equality Center.
“This day we celebrate that justice has been done for Evelyn”, leading Salvadoran women’s rights activist
Morena Herrera says. “This is a sign of hope for all women who remain in jail for crimes they did not
commit, for health problems that should never have been brought to court ... no woman should go through
the ordeal that Evelyn did.”