
Eugenia Pedraza
Taconic Correctional Facility
250 Harris Road
Bedford Hills, New York 10507-2497
02G0635

Eugenia Pedraza is a 51 year-old mother of three, who already has served more than 12 years in prison for crimes committed by three men, each of whom is already out of jail. Eugenia has applied to Governor Cuomo for clemency, in the hopes that she might be freed and the rest of her sentence commuted.
In 1999, Eugenia's husband abandoned her, their young son and her two daughters, and took the family's savings with him. Eugenia's step-father and two other men came up with and perpetrated a plan to abduct Eugenia’s sister-in-law (the husband’s sister), hoping to find the missing husband and the missing money. The sister-in-law was taken captive, threatened and mistreated, and narrowly escaped a fire that may have been set on purpose. The three captors were arrested, pled guilty and served prison terms of five or ten years.
Eugenia was arrested and pled not guilty, turning down a plea offer of three and a half years. She had known that her step-father was planning “something” – but he purposefully hid the details from her. She did not participate in holding the victim captive and was in police custody at the time of the fire.
Eugenia did not get a fair trial. The prosecution used an illegally obtained statement from Eugenia (written in English although she then spoke only Spanish), prejudicial surprise testimony from her husband (the prosecutors “forgot” to put him on the witness list), and inconsistent and unreliable testimony from the victim. Eugenia’s lawyer – later disbarred for other reasons – provided little in the way of defense. The jury convicted Eugenia of the crimes charged and, despite a sentencing report recommending probation, the courts imposed a 23-year-to-life prison sentence. Eugenia’s appeals to higher courts fell on death ears.
Eugenia asks for clemency, because her good conduct in prison merits special consideration, because of the circumstances of the case, and because her continued incarceration serves only to inhibit her further rehabilitation, to burden her three children, and to waste the resources of the State of New York.
It is impossible to imagine that another woman, arrested in connection with otherwise identical facts, would be in prison today if she spoke English, was Caucasian, or had the resources to afford capable legal representation. In the interests of fairness and common sense, Eugenia should be released.