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El Salvador Court Exonerates Woman Accused of Killing Stillborn Baby

Evelyn Hernandez, 21, spent spent three years behind bars after she was convicted of aggravated homicide.

A court in El Salvador has absolved a woman who was convicted of aggravated homicide when she gave birth to a stillborn child, Reuters reports. According to the lawyer of 21-year-old Evelyn Hernandez, Monday’s decision overturns her 30-year prison sentence—given after prosecutors accused her of inducing an abortion. According to CNN, doctors reported her to authorities in 2016 after seeing signs of delivery but no baby. Authorities later arrived at her home and found a dead newborn in a septic tank. Hernandez, who has already spent three years in prison, denied inducing an abortion and claimed she did not know she was pregnant until the delivery happened. The 21-year-old and her defense team also claim the pregnancy was the result of a rape. “Had I known I was pregnant, I would have awaited the baby with pride and joy,” Hernandez said in July.