She killed the man raping her. Now Mexican woman faces 6 years in prison

By MEGAN JANETSKY and FERNANDA PESCE
Associated Press

MEXICO CITY (AP) — A Mexican woman who killed a man defending herself when he attacked and raped her in 2021 was sentenced to more than six years in prison, a decision her legal defense called “discriminatory” and vowed to appeal. While the Mexico State court found that the woman, Roxana Ruiz, had been raped, it said that the 23-year-old was guilty of homicide with “excessive use of legitimate defense” and said that hitting the man in the head would have been enough to defend herself. Ruiz was also ordered to pay more than $16,000 in reparations to the family of the man who raped her. The ruling spurred anger from experts, feminist groups and Ángel Carrera, Ruiz’s lawyer, saying it speaks to the depth of gender-based violence and coinciding impunity in Mexico.