State of Mexico Edomex – On November 4, 2015, a cold morning in Tecámac marked the last time José Humbertus Pérez Espinoza would see his mother, “Doña Guille,” a wise, self-taught woman and a formidable orator, in freedom. That morning, she worriedly warned him about the confrontations she was having with banks and mortgage companies. Before saying goodbye, she gave him a kiss and her last blessing, as if she sensed what was to come.
José Humbertus never imagined that that day would end in prison, accused of four crimes he maintains he never committed. Since then, he has become a tireless advocate for the wrongfully convicted in Mexico. Today, nine years later, he continues to remember his mother and the suffering of so many mothers like her, who see their children in prison for crimes they did not commit. “Doña Guille,” as she was known to those who loved her, clearly defined what, in her opinion, the PRI and PAN governments were: “authoritarianism and crime.”
How does injustice turn into resistance?
Time in prison was not enough to break José Humbertus’s spirit. From jail, and after regaining his freedom, he became an activist and leader of the Presumption of Innocence and Human Rights collectives and the Mexiquense Front for Decent Housing. Through these movements, he denounces what he calls “Institutionalized Crime,” a system where the fabrication of guilt and the abuse of power are commonplace. In his words, it is not a mistake or an excess, but a conviction of the State to impose its force on those least able to defend themselves.
At a crucial moment in his life, José Humbertus presented his document, “Reflections and Proposals for a National Reform of Criminal Justice (A View of the Falsely Accused),” to retired Justice and former President of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (SCJN), Arturo Zaldívar. Through his analysis, he exposed the plight of thousands of unjustly imprisoned Mexicans and advocated for an Amnesty Law for the State of Mexico, which seeks to give a second chance to those prisoners convicted of crimes they did not commit.
Can a dead system be revived?
José Humbertus’s words resonate not only in the echo of his denunciations but also in the fighting spirit he shares with thousands of Mexican families. Despite years of imprisonment and the challenges he has faced, he continues to advocate for a justice system that is not a “dead system,” but a living and reformed one, one that operates with dignity and respect for the rights of all.
Today, the phrase “Prisoners today, free forever” has become his rallying cry and a call to continue fighting against a system that, according to him, needs to be dismantled and rebuilt to protect the innocent.
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