Inez García
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Inez García (1941–2003) was a
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
woman who became a
cause célèbre A cause célèbre (,''Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged'', 12th Edition, 2014. S.v. "cause célèbre". Retrieved November 30, 2018 from https://www.thefreedictionary.com/cause+c%c3%a9l%c3%a8bre ,''Random House Kernerman Webs ...
of the
feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...
movement when she was charged with the 1974
murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification (jurisprudence), justification or valid excuse (legal), excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person wit ...
of a man who had
rape Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse or other forms of sexual penetration carried out against a person without their consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority, or ag ...
d her.


Background

García was born in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
and raised in
Spanish Harlem East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, F ...
. Her ethnic heritage is mixed Puerto Rican and
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
n. She married the
Cuban exile A Cuban exile is a person who emigrated from Cuba in the Cuban exodus. Exiles have various differing experiences as emigrants depending on when they migrated during the exodus. Demographics Social class Cuban exiles would come from various eco ...
and
Anti-Castro The Cuban dissident movement is a political movement in Cuba whose aim is to replace the current government with a liberal democracy. According to Human Rights Watch, the Cuban government represses nearly all forms of political dissent. Backgrou ...
activist Activism (or Advocacy) consists of efforts to promote, impede, direct or intervene in social, political, economic or environmental reform with the desire to make changes in society toward a perceived greater good. Forms of activism range fro ...
Juan García Cardenas, and the two of them had a son in 1963. Cardenas was imprisoned in
Soledad, California Soledad is a city in Monterey County, California, United States. It is in the Salinas Valley, southeast of Salinas, the county seat. Soledad's population was 24,925 at the 2020 census, down from 25,738 in 2010. Soledad's origins started wi ...
, after being convicted of involvement in a political bombing in Los Angeles claimed by Poder Cubano. In 1971 Garcia moved to Soledad to be nearer to her husband. She worked in the lettuce fields and supplemented her income with
welfare Welfare, or commonly social welfare, is a type of government support intended to ensure that members of a society can meet basic human needs such as food and shelter. Social security may either be synonymous with welfare, or refer specificall ...
. She earned a reputation in the small, mostly
Chicano Chicano or Chicana is a chosen identity for many Mexican Americans in the United States. The label ''Chicano'' is sometimes used interchangeably with ''Mexican American'', although the terms have different meanings. While Mexican-American ident ...
community as a devout and chaste
Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. She shared an apartment with Fred Medrano, a
Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...
who was involved in the
illegal drug trade The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs through ...
.


Rape and murder

On March 17, 1974, García was entertaining friends at her apartment; Medrano also had a guest, with whom he was smoking
marijuana Cannabis, also known as marijuana among other names, is a psychoactive drug from the cannabis plant. Native to Central or South Asia, the cannabis plant has been used as a drug for both recreational and entheogenic purposes and in various tra ...
. Louie Castillo and Miguel Jimenez, Soledad locals and acquaintances of Medrano, arrived in a state of inebriation to purchase
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
from Medrano. They began harassing García and her friends, and Garcia's guests departed, leaving García with the others in the apartment. Soon, an argument arose between Medrano and Castillo, who was envious of Medrano's status as the primary drug connection in Soledad and was resentful that an "outsider" had become so successful. The argument became physical, and Medrano was winning the fight (Castillo was a wiry seventeen-year-old) until the 300-pound Jimenez intervened, beating Medrano and threatening him with a knife. Jimenez and Castillo took García to an alley behind the building where Jimenez restrained and Castillo raped her, according to García's testimony, "to show me what a hometown boy was." The two men left the scene for a neighbor's house. Shortly after arriving, they (or someone else) called the García-Medrano residence, laughing, taunting, and threatening García's life if she did not leave town. García armed herself with her son's .22 rifle and she and Medrano drove the six blocks to the residence where Castillo and Jimenez were located. Accounts vary as to precisely what occurred next, but, according to Garcia's testimony during her 1975 retrial, Jimenez appeared to brandish his knife and García shot him. Castillo, meanwhile, escaped into a nearby park. Medrano and García continued until they arrived at the home of the two friends that had visited her earlier, and when the
police The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by a state, with the aim to enforce the law, to ensure the safety, health and possessions of citizens, and to prevent crime and civil disorder. Their lawful powers include arrest and t ...
arrived, she surrendered to them.


Investigation

While being interrogated, García claimed that the two men had merely attempted to rape her. Her Catholic sensibilities and sense of shame prevented her from revealing the whole truth. At the jail, she was tested for drugs and alcohol but not for signs of rape. Castillo was never charged with any crime.


Trial

When Cardenas learned of his wife's predicament, he recommended that she retain
Charles Garry Charles R. Garry (March 17, 1909 – August 16, 1991) was an Armenian-American civil rights attorney who represented a number of high-profile clients in political cases during the 1960s and 1970s, including Huey P. Newton during his 1968 capital ...
, a criminal attorney who had gained a reputation in
Soledad State Penitentiary Soledad, Spanish for "solitude", often refers to María de la Soledad (Our Lady of Solitude), a variant name of Mary the mother of Jesus in Roman Catholic tradition. Soledad may refer to: People * Chalon people or Soledad, a Native American peop ...
as the defender of George Jackson,
Huey P. Newton Huey Percy Newton (February 17, 1942 – August 22, 1989) was an African-American revolutionary, notable as founder of the Black Panther Party. Newton crafted the Party's ten-point manifesto with Bobby Seale in 1966. Under Newton's leadershi ...
, and
Bobby Seale Robert George Seale (born October 22, 1936) is an American political activist and author. Seale is widely known for co-founding the Black Panther Party with fellow activist Huey P. Newton. Founded as the "Black Panther Party for Self-Defense", ...
. At the same time, news of the case reached the
San Francisco Bay Area The San Francisco Bay Area, often referred to as simply the Bay Area, is a populous region surrounding the San Francisco, San Pablo, and Suisun Bay estuaries in Northern California. The Bay Area is defined by the Association of Bay Area Go ...
, where the
women's rights Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
and Chicano movements were at their apex. García began speaking to women's groups in the area, and the
Inez Garcia Defense Committee Inez is a feminine given name. It is the English spelling of the Spanish and Portuguese name Inés/Inês/Inez, the forms of the given name " Agnes". The name is pronounced as , , or . Agnes is a woman's given name, which derives from the Greek w ...
raised money for the defense and publicized the case, hoping to highlight it as a prime example of gender inequity in the criminal justice system, rather than a simple murder. Through her contact with feminist groups, Garcia transformed from the timid, submissive victim who was too ashamed to even admit what had happened to her into an outspoken critic of patriarchy, even when she saw it in her own judge, who she accused of prejudice and sexism. During the trial, Garry had argued that García had acted with diminished capacity. He based this argument on expert psychological testimony that rape causes mental trauma and García's own history of mental instability. The defense disappointed feminists who preferred to see García as a symbol of strength and resistance to male domination. It also failed to win the sympathy of the jury. García was convicted of second-degree murder, sentenced, and spent two years in the
California Institution for Women California Institution for Women (CIW) is a women's state prison located in the city of Chino, San Bernardino County, California, east of Los Angeles, although the mailing address states "Corona," which is in Riverside County, California. Facil ...
before her appeal was heard.


Retrial

In her retrial, García was represented by the feminist attorney Susan Jordan. Jordan dropped the "diminished capacity" defense, instead arguing simple self-defense. The argument convinced the jury, who exonerated the defendant.


Aftermath

The case was construed in legal circles as a ruling in favor of a woman's right to use deadly force against sexual assault. García herself continued to advocate for the rights of women and rape victims, but her activism diminished as a result of infirmity. Toward the end of her life she battled cancer and died in February 2003 at Miami. As a cause celebrity, her case inspired numerous works of art and music, including the Beverly Grant folk song "Inez", performed with the group The Human Condition; Marge Piercy's poem "For Inez Garcia"; and Jayne Cortez's poem "Rape."


See also

*
Joan Little Joan Little (pronounced "Jo Ann") (born 1953) is an African-American woman who was charged with the 1974 murder of Clarence Alligood, a white prison guard at Beaufort County Jail in Washington, North Carolina, who attempted to rape Little bef ...
* Yvonne Wanrow *
Aileen Wuornos Aileen Carol Wuornos (; born Pittman; February 29, 1956 – October 9, 2002) was an American serial killer. In 1989–1990, while engaging in street prostitution along highways in Florida, she shot dead and robbed seven of her male clients. W ...


References

Salter, Kenneth W. (ed.). ''The Trial of Inez García''. Berkeley, California: Editorial Justa Publications, 1976.


External links


womenprisoners.orgThe obituary of an organizer of Garcia's defense committee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia, Inez 1941 births American feminists American people of Cuban descent 2003 deaths People acquitted of murder People from Monterey County, California People from East Harlem Vigilantism against sex offenders