'Justice Delayed' becomes 'Justice Denied'

This is one of the worst cases of justice denied that I have seen in a long time. According to KVUE Defenders Reporter, Rudy Koski has exposed several critical missteps in a criminal case that is more than 10 years old. It involves an escape to South America by an accused drunk driver who police say took the life of a University of Texas student. Marilyn Datz,mother of Lindsey Brashier,the co-ed who was killed, is still waiting for justice.

According to the accident report, the car Lindsey was riding in spun off the road and hit a utility pole.

“Was basically one car going way too fast,” said Robert Hasselman, now retired, was the investigating police officer at the scene. “I mean, this is totally a one car wreck, that the driver is totally responsible for everything.”

Brashier was dead at the scene. Another passenger, Tatina Sartori, 19, was critically injured. She was paralyzed and eventually returned to her home country of Brazil. Austin police arrested the driver, Evelyn Mezzich, 18. Her blood alcohol level was .10. The legal limit is .08.

Officers booked Mezzich into the Travis County Jail. Bond was set at $10,000. She was released after paying $1,000 to post the bond. Lindsay’s mother, Datz, wanted a higher amount.

While out on bond, a grand jury indicted Mezzich for intoxication manslaughter. The charge apparently did not slow down her social life. Datz was provided a photograph of Mezzich at a UT frat party. In the picture, she is seen smiling and holding some type of drink. It was only two months after the crash. Less than a year later, when District County Judge Bob Perkins called her case for trial, Mezzich did not appear. She jumped bail.

Mezzich is from Lima, Peru. She and her parents packed their belongings, left Texas and escaped to South America. A warrant was issued, along with a new indictment for bail jumping. FBI agents found Mezzich in 2001. She was starting a new life in Lima, but the agents were not allowed to bring her back. There was a loophole in the treaty with Peru. Manslaughter did not qualify for extradition.

Datz wanted that loophole closed and contacted KVUE News. While researching the Treaty, Congressman Michael McCaul listened to Datz’s story.

“She is a broken woman, and she needs to be made whole,” said Rep. McCaul.

The congressman reviewed the case file and was surprised by what he read.

"It is a case that slipped through the cracks," said McCaul.

A former federal prosecutor, McCaul is currently a member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs. After some digging, he discovered the loophole was closed. It had been since 2003 when a new treaty was ratified by the U.S. Senate. At the time, no one in the Travis County District Attorney’s Office knew about the new treaty. The case remained filed away.

“I sense that the attention that it deserved, it wasn't given the proper attention, they closed the book on this case, with the new treaty the book should be open,” said Rep. McCaul.

With the treaty problem resolved, all the Justice Department needed was a letter from the Travis County DA’s office requesting that the extradition process start up again. The DA’s office was notified in May. Five months would pass, and still no letter. In October, KVUE sent a letter requesting an interview with District Attorney Ronnie Earle to explain what was taking so long. In a phone interview, D.A. Earle explained he was just being made aware of the problem. He scheduled his first assistant, Rosemary Lehmberg, for an on camera interview.

“Well, I wish we could have accomplished more in the last five or six months, but, we are a busy office," said Lehmberg.

A formal request to extradite Evelyn Mezzich was made in late October. When asked if the delay was troublesome for her as a manager, Lehmberg said, “Well in our world that doesn't seem like such a long time.”

It was long enough for Evelyn Mezzich to experience several life changes.

Along with videos, her MySpace website is packed with pictures. She earned a degree in psychology, got a boyfriend and a diamond ring. She celebrated her engagement with friends at a Lima bar, married her boyfriend in August and is now pregnant -- big changes that certainly had not happened in 2003, when the new extradition treaty was ratified, or in May, when Travis County was told it could go get her.

It is all hard for Datz to understand and accept.

“And all I’m looking for is, I’m sorry, because the pain is just, it’s immense,” said Datz.

Datz may never get that apology. Why? Peru can simply say no. All treaties recognize a sovereign country's right to do that. Those working the extradition case at the Justice Department are not giving up, and neither is Congressman McCaul.

“This has been a long hard road for the mother, it’s been ten years, but we are going to keep fighting,” said McCaul.

It is a fight made even more difficult because Mezzich is pregnant. So as Mezzich prepares to celebrate a new life, the life Datz had so much hope for, ended much too soon. Her child remains buried at a Houston cemetery. Only time will tell whether Lindsay's story will continue to be one of justice denied, or justice delayed.
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Ms. Mezzich must be a very cold harded person. I know Myspace did not have anything to with her actions but it would be a nice gesture if they would delete her myspace account.