Carmen Mejia after her release Credit: Montinique Monroe for the Innocence Project

Carmen Mejia, a Honduran immigrant who has spent the last 22 years behind bars for a crime she did not commit, is free. Mejia walked out of the Travis County jail in Del Valle late Tuesday night and into the arms of her attorneys from the Innocence Project, who embraced her in a long group hug.  

“I never lost faith and hope,” Mejia said afterward. “I never lost it in 22 years.”

Mejia’s release stunned and elated her supporters, who had expected her to be deported by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, despite being formally declared innocent of murdering an infant in her care in an Austin courtroom on Monday. A spokesperson with the Department of Homeland Security told reporters she would be allowed to stay in the country. “Due to her exoneration, she is legally allowed to remain in the U.S. until her temporary protected status expires,” DHS said in a statement.

Mejia’s release came after Travis County District Court Judge David Wahlberg exonerated her at a March 9 hearing for her 2005 murder conviction in the scalding death of 10-month-old Abelardo Casiano. After signing the order, Wahlberg directed the sheriff’s deputies guarding Mejia to stand back and allow her to embrace her three daughters. The daughters clustered around their mother in the silent courtroom, feeling her touch for the first time in over two decades, hugging her and weeping.  

At the end of the hearing Wahlberg asked that any federal immigration authorities monitoring Mejia’s case take into account the fact that she had served 22 years for a crime she did not commit, that she was not involved in any violent offense while in prison, and that she is not a flight risk because she wants to stay in Austin with her children. 

Now, Mejia will get a chance to do just that. “We wish Ms. Mejia and her family the best in her new chapter,” said Travis County District Attorney José Garza, who was instrumental in securing her exoneration. “We will never be able to give her back the lost years, but we are grateful to the Innocence Project, our Conviction Integrity Unit, Mr. Art Guerrero, Congressman Greg Casar, and all who contributed to making sure our office could fulfill its promise to seek justice and right this wrong.”

This article appears in March 13 • 2026.

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Brant Bingamon arrived in Austin in 1981 to attend UT and immediately became fascinated by the city's music scene. He's spent his adult life playing in bands and began writing for the Chronicle in 2019, covering criminal justice, the death penalty, and public school issues. He has two children, Noah and Eryl, and lives with his partner Adrienne on the Eastside.