Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Against the Odds, Cynthia Orr Receives Bail for Client
Events this week have underscored the passion and dedication that women attorneys bring to this field, often yielding stunning results for our clients. On Wednesday I wrote about the remarkable appeal victory earned by Lori Voepel.
In another amazing turnaround this week, attorney Cynthia Orr was finally able to obtain bail for Hannah Overton - almost two months after her conviction was overturned. Multiple news organizations picked up the story, including ABC News, Huffington Post and Newser. These kinds of life-altering results driven by women criminal lawyers are worthy of a second post this week.
The judge awarded Hannah Overton a $50,000 bond and rejected the prosecution’s request for a $250,000 bond. Overton was convicted of murder in 2006 for the salt-poisoning death of her foster son. In October of this year an appeals court agreed that she received ineffective representation during her murder trial and the conviction was reversed. Overton has been asserting her innocence since being charged. Her husband was also charged but accepted a plea after her conviction and was sentenced to probation, which has since terminated. The Overton’s have five children that have only seen their mother through glass in the jail once a month during her last seven years of incarceration. Cynthia Orr has been a ferocious advocate for Overton throughout and hasn’t for a moment stopped fighting to gain her freedom. That effort was rewarded this week as her client walked out of jail to spend Christmas with her kids and hug them for the first time in over seven years. This is the kind of thing that gives you goose bumps.
So many people get lost in our criminal system. A few lucky ones meet advocates like Cynthia Orr and Lori Voepel who breathe life into their quest for justice. This kind of perseverance is simply inspiring. For those of you that don’t know Cynthia Orr, she is currently a co-chair of the Criminal Justice Section for the ABA and a past president of NACDL. She exemplifies the term “champion of justice” and obviously doesn’t sleep. Congrats to Cynthia on a stunning victory. The fight is not over… but Hannah Overton couldn’t be in more capable caring hands.