Despite self-defense: woman kills her rapist – court in Mexico sentences her to prison

Mexico
Despite self-defense: court sentences woman who killed her rapist to several years in prison

Roxana Ruiz at a memorial service for rape victims

© Eduardo Verdugo/ / Picture Alliance

In 2021, a young mother was raped by a man in Mexico. In the fight she strangled him. A court has now ruled that she must pay more than $16,000 and go to jail.

Roxana Ruiz is a single mother from the Mexican state of Oaxaca. In 2021, over a beer with a friend, she met a man she knew from the neighborhood. The man offered Ruiz to walk her home. When he got there, he wanted to spend the night with her because it would have happened already and he had a long way home to go.

Ruiz allowed him to sleep on a mattress on the floor. However, while she was sleeping, he climbed into her bed, beat and raped her. That’s what the lawyers of the 23-year-old say. Ruiz fought back and slapped her rapist in the face. When he threatened to kill her, she strangled him in self-defense with a T-shirt. The Mexican woman is said to have tried to dismember the man’s body. She is said to have kept the body for at least 20 hours before taking it out onto the street in a plastic bag. They spotted the police and arrested them.

Rape victim faces several years in prison and $16,000

On Wednesday, a court sentenced her to six years and two months in prison. In addition, she must pay her rapist’s family over $16,000 in compensation. According to the court, Ruiz acted in self-defense but used excessive force. Accordingly, a blow to the head of the man would have been enough to defend himself.

“I regret what I did. But if I hadn’t done it, I would be dead today,” says Ruiz in an interview. The Mexican had already been in custody for nine months before being released for the duration of the trial. Until the final confirmation of the verdict, she should initially be allowed to remain at large.

Defender speaks of a “bad precedent”

The lawyer for the 23-year-old announces that he wants to appeal. “It would set a bad precedent if this ruling stood,” he said. “It sends the message to women that the law allows you to defend yourself, but only up to a point.”


Kids Behind Guns: An Inside Look at Mexico's First Army for Kids

As a rule, the identity of a victim is not disclosed in media reports. However, Ruiz has given permission to the AP press agency to identify her.

Sources: RTL, Mirror, NY Post

source site-1