"The Juror Who Found Herself Guilty"

Storytelling CATEGORY — SHOWCASE gold winner

Texas Monthly
Michael Hall

01/16/2024

Thirty-four years ago, the lives of two people collided in an El Paso courtroom, their paths irrevocably altered. Carlos Jaile was wrongfully locked away for the brutal rape of a young girl. Estella Ybarra, who sat on his jury and voted to convict him despite doubting his guilt, was tormented by regret. Decades passed, and in 2017 a serendipitous discovery compelled Ybarra to try and rectify the injustice. Her determination gave new life to Jaile just as he was losing hope. Yet the two had never met until Texas Monthly’s Michael Hall brought them together in one of the most singular and heartrending scenes you’ll ever read.

Hall has long been one of the finest criminal justice reporters in the country, and one of the best magazine writers, period. Two decades in the making, his profile of the brilliant but troubled folklorist Mack McCormick was an Ellie finalist last year. But this masterful tale, in which Hall seamlessly interweaves the arcs of his two protagonists, might be the most remarkable of his career. Rare is the story that elicits such an emotional outpouring from readers across the country.

The story is impressive in part because Hall manages to create a taut, propulsive narrative from two otherwise ordinary lives. His restrained but evocative prose is rooted in strongly detailed reporting. He spent nearly two years finding and earning the trust of the two principal characters, and then made repeated trips to their hometowns, steadily strengthening his rapport with them. He also managed to track down nearly everyone involved in the case, building a damning portrait of a system that still, to this day, is bent on denying Jaile real justice.

As Hall discovered, the local cops, the district attorney’s office, and even the defense attorney had known about DNA testing that would’ve proven Jaile’s innocence back in 1990. They all chose to ignore it. “The truth is,” writes Hall, “everyone involved in Carlos’s case found a reason to look the other way. Everyone, that is, except for one woman determined to do the right thing.”

The story culminates in the kind of emotionally raw scene that journalists are rarely privy to. Yet the piece resists oversimplification and Hollywood endings, artfully exploring thorny questions about justice, remorse, courage, and the power and limitations of grace.

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Submitted by Meher Yeda.