Wendy Howard Update, Judge’s decision postponed

Dear Community,

Although we were hoping that Judge Rodriguez would grant the motion to dismiss Wendy’s one remaining charge based on her double jeopardy plea, a decision has yet again been delayed until April 5th.

It appears that Judge Rodriguez is basing her decision on whether or not Wendy’s attorney, Tony Lidgett, objected on the record to the jury instructions that split one voluntary manslaughter charge into two at the start of the trial, rather than basing her decision on the constitutional challenge presented in the motion to dismiss. The judge’s decision will be made April 5th pending her review of the trial transcript.

The April 5th ruling coincides with the readiness hearing for a new trial, since Kern County DA Cynthia Zimmer refuses to drop the charge against Wendy, insistent on retraumatizing this family of survivors.

Despite our disappointment, we held an energizing press conference and are so grateful to those who spoke: Wendy’s Pastor, Dale Rose, her daughter, Bayley Frost, Survived and Punished co-founder Alisa Bierria, formerly incarcerated survivor of domestic violence, Kelly Savage-Rodriguez, and Trial Juror-turned-Advocate, Mark Christian. We know how rare it is for a trial juror to advocate for a defendant post-trial, and we appreciate that Mark is moved by a moral obligation to prevent an innocent woman from going to prison.

To view the press conference, please visit Defend Wendy’s Facebook page. (Apologies for previously streaming a silent video).

We include some impactful quotes from the press conference:

Pastor Dale Rose, Canyon Hills Assembly of God: 

“One thing that I’ve come to know is that sometimes it’s hard to have faith in the justice system. The last few days it’s been accentuated. But I know Wendy is innocent. The court knows she’s innocent. Four times they’ve said not guilty: first-degree murder, second-degree murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, and yet, her case is threatened to go on. It’s just not right.” 

Bayley Frost, daughter of both Wendy Howard and the decedent, and a survivor: 

“I was really hopeful this could be over today. For me, for my mom, for my sister, Miranda, all my little siblings, and our whole family. But it’s not, it’s being pushed back again and now it’s going to continuously loom over our heads....This has been going on for years and still doesn’t have any end in sight…It is extremely traumatic for me and my whole family, and we just really want this to be over. ” 

Alisa Bierria, co-founder of Survived & Punished:

“This is a strategy to continue to traumatize survivors of domestic violence, continue to traumatize survivors of child sexual abuse. You wear people down until they’re forced to take your plea deal, and that’s how DAs work. Wendy Howard has been through a brutal trial. Her daughters, Miranda and Bayley, have been through a brutal trial, her entire family. We have seen the Kern County DA use this strategy against other survivors of domestic violence, where they won’t let it go. There’s a hung jury, so they’ll retry the case, another hung jury, and they’ll retry the case, until survivors are impoverished by trying to defend themselves in court, completely exhausted, worn down, retraumatized, until they are finally pressured into taking a plea deal that they don’t want to take, that they shouldn’t have to take, because they did nothing wrong to defend their lives.

 The Kern County DA is choosing to use public resources that could be used to actually support survivors of domestic violence, and support survivors of child sexual abuse, with housing and counseling, and other resources they need to survive. But what’s happening here is the Kern County DA is choosing punishment over justice, and punishment over safety. The DA should never have pursued this case. They should immediately drop this case today, yesterday, so that Wendy and her family can finally move on from this horrible nightmare. But we are going to be here until the end, we are going to be here to see the end. There is no way her supporters and family are going to give up this fight, but we hope that the fight can be resolved and end in freedom, today.”

Mark Christian, Trial Juror #1:

“I listened to all the evidence…and for one, I cannot believe we are here again today....Many mistakes were made in this case, I believe, from the Tehachapi Police Department, that they tried to cover up….I was here in October, and after hearing everything, we deliberated, and we said not guilty on Murder 1, Murder 2, and not guilty on the other charges. And we’re here today because they [the DA] can’t figure out what that means.....The county will know that this trial seems to be more politically motivated than because of justice.”

Kelly Savage-Rodriguez, formerly incarcerated survivor of domestic violence:

“As someone who survived serving a sentence as a survivor, I understand the importance of the jury and what takes place in this court, but I also am absolutely aware of how corrupt it is. Nobody is considering the victims, and the fact is there are victims throughout this entire county. Unfortunately, we do not have a prosecutor who is willing to step aside [for justice]. It is about a conviction, and not about the victim’s rights. Nobody is looking at Wendy’s children and saying “We are serving their best interests.” This county is serving the interests of the DA at this moment, NOT of those victims. 

There is no reason to keep retrying this case and creating more deficit in this county for no other reason than pride. There is no other way we can put this in perspective than they want a conviction, and it is all about the conviction and NOT the actual responsibility of the county to have done their right job in the first place, and had the decedent incarcerated in the first place, when they first found out he was assaulting people. That is the truth. Instead, they are looking for a conviction just to get any conviction, and that is not okay. And our community here in Bakersfield needs to say something. Because they are the ones paying for this trial. Wendy should not be incarcerated, we must end this now.”

***Having such a powerful gathering only reaffirms our commitment to Wendy’s freedom, which we hope to celebrate in the near future.***

If you are able, please consider donating to Wendy’s Legal Fund, and follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

Thank you so much for your support in this growing movement for Wendy! We will send another update following the April 5th court dates.

In Solidarity,

The Wendy Howard Defense Committee