AG Paxton Will Fight to Keep Convicted Child Murderer Rosa Jimenez in Jail While Her Case Proceeds at the Fifth Circuit

AUSTIN – Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he will not drop the appeal in convicted child murderer Rosa Jimenez’s case which is currently pending at the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. A jury previously found Jimenez guilty of murder and injury to a child. The jury sentenced her to 75 and 99 years imprisonment respectively, and her convictions were unanimously upheld by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In January, the Fifth Circuit indicated that her convictions will likely be upheld on appeal. In her most recent filing, Jimenez argues that the potential to contract COVID-19 while imprisoned warrants her release during the appeal proceedings.   

“As it stands, my office will not drop this appeal against a convicted child murderer, which three federal judges have already held is likely to succeed. There is no new evidence in this case, and a new trial can only commence at the direction of the higher courts already reviewing this horrific murder case,” said Attorney General Paxton. “The Texas Department of Criminal Justice has taken extensive steps to safeguard prisoners’ health, and my office will dutifully proceed with this case and uphold Texas’s criminal justice system and the rule of law.”  

Read a copy of the filing here.