Roxana Ruiz, acquitted after being sentenced for killing her rapist in self-defense

The Roxana Ruiz case has taken an unexpected turn in recent days. After being sentenced to six years and two months in prison for murdering her rapist in self-defense, the Prosecutor's Office decided to drop the criminal action against her. That means Ruiz has been acquitted of the sentence handed down to her and the payment of 285,000 pesos ($16,000) that she was supposed to pay to her attacker's family.

The case has outraged a good part of Mexican society these weeks, in a country where 10 women are murdered a day and in which Ruiz could have been just another statistic. President López Obrador himself spoke in favor of granting the woman a pardon if the sentence was final.

Finally, media pressure has pushed the Attorney General's Office of the State of Mexico (FGEM) to change its mind. In a statement, the FGEM decided to abandon the case as an accusatory party and acknowledged that Ruiz acted to defend his life and that his conduct was "exempt from criminal responsibility because he acted in legitimate defense."

This Tuesday the hearing has been held to dismiss the case and shelve the matter. The counterpart has three days to appeal this decision and if so, the case could remain open, although Ruiz would take his process in freedom, as he has done so far, since his release from preventive detention was issued in February 2022. Until then, the young Oaxacan woman spent nine months in preventive detention until she managed to be released on bail.

Since early on, women's groups and feminist collectives in support of Ruiz, such as the group 'Nos quiero Vivas Neza' have demonstrated in front of the control courts of Nezahualcóyotl to give him their support. At 15:00 p.m. Ruiz in the company of her lawyer, left the courts clearly excited. Getting closer and closer to achieving their freedom.

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