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 News Around the Republic of Mexico | April 2008 
Emotional Day in Court for Martin
 W. Brice McVicar - The Intelligencer
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| | Court proceedings had to be stopped three times Monday to assist an emotional Brenda Martin as she made her final pleas for freedom before a judge. | | |
Court proceedings in Mexico had to be stopped three times Monday to assist an emotional Brenda Martin as she made her final pleas for freedom before a judge.
Martin, who has been in a Mexican prison for nearly 26 months, could learn her fate by Friday though Judge Luis Nunez Sandoval told her he has up to 30 business days to deliver his verdict in the case. His statement only added to the Martin's anxiety during a "roller coaster" of a day, her lawyer said.
"It has been a crazy day," Guillermo Cruz Rico told The Intelligencer. "Brenda's situation is not the best. I'm not talking about her legal state. I'm a little bit afraid about her mental and physical state."
Cruz explained the last day of hearings was interrupted three times to help Martin who needed unspecified attention due to her "mental condition."
He said Martin, a former Trenton-resident, is suffering mentally due to the ongoing legal case and her imprisonment in a Puente Grande prison near Guadalajara.
The judge's comments about waiting another 30 days before delivering a verdict were shrugged off by Cruz who said he believes the decision will be made sooner rather than later. Considering the media attention and focus of both Mexican and Canadian governments on Martin's situation, it is in everyone's best interest to have the matter resolved, he added.
"I'm pretty confident that he'll do it sooner," Cruz said. "I don't think he would be able to allow another delay in this case."
Deb Tieleman, Martin's friend who has become a vocal supporter and advocate for the woman, echoed Cruz's sentiments. In fact, Tieleman is so confident the judge will deliver a verdict on Friday, she is booking a flight to be there for her friend when the decision is handed down.
Though she stated last week she believed Martin will be found guilty of the charge of accepting illicit funds, Tieleman said Monday she has since changed her belief.
"I now think she's going to be found innocent," Tieleman said. "I've read all of the documents of evidence against her and there's none. Every person that they interviewed - right down to the pool boy - said Brenda was only a cook. There's literally no evidence for any judge, in any country, to convict her."
Tieleman said she spoke with Martin on a number of occasions throughout Monday. Her friend's health, she said, is failing. |
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