The Paraguayan courts have upheld the State's obligation to compensate teacher Clementina Ruiz Díaz Ojeda in the amount of over Gs. 853 million, plus interest, after she spent nearly three years in prison for a crime she did not commit.
The decision was ratified by the Court of Appeals, bringing an end to a legal battle that began in September 2013, when the teacher's newborn son died, apparently from asphyxiation after choking on breast milk, while she was returning to her home in Carapeguá.
Following traditional customs of the rural community, the mother buried the baby in the yard of the residence. Comments from neighbors about the child's absence led to a report being filed, and the Prosecutor's Office located the body after searching the property. The teacher was charged with intentional homicide, although the defense maintained that there was never any concrete evidence of the crime.
Forensic examinations were unable to establish any signs of violent death. Despite this, Ruiz Díaz spent 1,013 days detained in the Buen Pastor women's penitentiary—the equivalent of two years, nine months, and seven days. During her incarceration, she lost her job, and her two other minor children were left in a vulnerable situation.
On August 1, 2016, a Trial Court acquitted her, finding that the Public Prosecutor's Office had failed to present sufficient elements to support the charge, highlighting the "evidentiary vacuum" in the case.