Mexican merchant Janeth freed after 60‑year wrongful conviction

Janeth, a small‑business owner from Puebla, was sentenced in 2023 to 60 years in prison for alleged participation in kidnapping and extortion after a 64,000‑peso deposit appeared in her account. She reported the unexpected money, saying, "Fui al banco a sacar lo de la pensión de mi hija. Lo que siempre recibía eran mil pesos. Vi un dinero que no era mío," but authorities dismissed her complaint during the pandemic. Two women later arrived at her shop, first posing as welfare program agents and then revealing themselves as members of the Policía de Investigación, after which she was arrested and transferred to the Santa Martha Acatitla women’s penitentiary in Mexico City. The Instituto Federal de la Defensoría Pública (IFDP) took up her case, demonstrating that the prosecution had no evidence linking her to the crimes and that her banking data had been compromised. In June 2025 a court annulled the conviction and ordered her release, underscoring flaws in investigative procedures and the importance of adequate legal defense.