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Dear Joyce and Dave,
Alejandro and I would like to express our sincere gratitude to The Power
Hour and your listeners for your continued support throughout the horrific
trial we faced. Words can not convey our appreciation. Your program has been
a constant source of strength for our family and we truly are grateful for
your willingness to seek the truth - in all aspects. The prayers, support,
and financial assistance we have received from all of you have truly been a
blessing from Yahweh - and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
As you know, we lost our precious 3 1/2 month old baby Lucas in September of
2002. The last 3 1/2 years have been a constant, surreal nightmare for us,
but that changed on Tuesday, November 22nd - the day we were once again
reunited, although the circumstances of this arrangement were less than
ideal. Alejandro was potentially facing a life sentence for something that
never occurred. Our precious Lucas was NEVER shaken or abused, and Alejandro
would still be in jail if the prosecution truly believed that Lucas had been
harmed in any way.
The District Attorney's office had been presented with numerous medical
reports that prove our beautiful son had a clearly established coagulopathy;
nonetheless they were unwilling to drop the charges. THEY ARE AWARE OF THE
TRUTH. They KNOW the medical findings prove Alejandro's innocence, but they
were presented with the majority of these reports after Alejandro had
already been incarcerated for over 2 YEARS.
We believe, as do many others, that the county was attempting to preclude
any future civil litigation for Alejandro's wrongful imprisonment. The
District Attorney's office and the judge did NOT want our case to go to
trial and made this very clear to our counsel. Alejandro had declined prior
"deals" offered by the prosecution. Once the prosecutors had been shown
indisputable facts proving Alejandro's innocence, and they continued to
falsely imprison him, we could see that they intended to continue their
persecution of an innocent man even if that led to a life sentence. In
essence, the "no contest" plea was the only way that Alejandro could
guarantee he would ever be able to see his family in Costa Rica again.
When the last deal was offered our attorneys told Alejandro that it was the
ONLY way they could guarantee that he would not be wrongly convicted - that
it was the only way he would ever walk out of that jail without any risks.
Alejandro is not a US citizen and he ran a very high risk of facing a jury
that would not be able to see beyond his race and ethnicity. We are aware of
NUMEROUS other cases in which the falsely accused presented sound medical
explanations for the infant's condition. Nonetheless, in many of these cases
the person accused was convicted and many remain imprisoned despite the fact
that there is evidence proving their innocence. The sentences often range
range from 10 years to a life term. Alejandro did not want to become another
statistic as the odds were against us, particularly in light of the fact
that there is a 99% conviction rate in these cases and we were repeatedly
reminded of that. The risk was too great. As a condition of his release
Alejandro even had to sign papers stating that he would not sue the county!
Since we both are innocent of any wrongdoing, the decision to enter "no
contest" deeply disturbed both of us. Knowing that doctors killed our baby
and then blamed us makes us sick, but Alejandro's freedom was paramount. We
would like to be able to continue to help others who currently find
themselves in similar situations and we would like to someday start a
family. It is much easier to help others from the outside than from inside
of a jail cell.
Unfortunately, our case has not set precedent here in Pennsylvania. Other
innocent parents or caretakers will continue to be accused, charged, and
falsely convicted of something that NEVER occurred. Shaken Baby Syndrome is
commonly misdiagnosed when vaccines and iatrogenics are oftentimes the true
cause of the infants' injuries. Until the medical establishment refrains
from accusing innocent people of abuse - this horrible cycle will continue
to perpetuate. A common pattern that runs through these cases is the
physicians' failure to perform differential diagnosis, and to take the time
to listen to the caretakers' histories. We can only hope and pray that a
paradigm shift will soon occur so that others lives are not needlessly
destroyed in the sake of greed and money.
The Power Hour has supported us in so many ways, not only you, but the
wonderful, kind people who work with you at the Power Hour. Everyone who
listens is truly blessed to receive the information you provide because it
spans so many different aspects of daily life. Whether in Costa Rica or here
in the US, we would not be without our shortwave radio or our subscription
to the shows archives. The information we receive is invaluable - so thank
you for being the "Power Team" that you are. Finally, we appreciate your
willingness to air our story - because if it could save one person from
vaccinating his or her child - that alone is worth so so much.
May Yahweh keep you safe and continue to bless you.
Sincerely,
Lisa Mullenax & Alejandro Mendez
www.freemendez.org
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