Thirty years in the past, music legend Selena Quintanilla-Pérez was killed by her fan membership’s president, Yolanda Saldívar. For the final three a long time, Saldívar has served her life sentence in Texas.
Now 64, Saldívar petitioned for parole below evaluate, in accordance with Texas Division of Prison Justice on-line data. On Thursday, parole was denied.
Saldívar is serving a life sentence on the Patrick L. O’Daniel Correctional Facility in Gatesville, Texas. A 3-member panel of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles voted to not launch her. The panel stated her case might be eligible for parole evaluate once more in 2030.
Here is the whole lot it’s essential learn about Selena, Saldívar and the parole course of in Texas:
Who was Selena Quintanilla-Pérez?
Born in 1971, Quintanilla-Pérez demonstrated an unbelievable vocal present in childhood, fronting Selena y Los Dinos together with her siblings A.B. and Suzette Quintanilla.
Her superstardom arrived within the early Nineties, together with her distinctive mix of Tejano, pop, cumbia and different musical types manifesting in large hits like “Bidi Bidi Bom Bom,” “Como la Flor,” “Amor Prohibido,” “No Me Queda Mas” and “Tu Solo Tu.”
Recognized the world over as The Queen of Tejano, or much more merely simply as Selena, she broke obstacles for girls in Latin music. She opened the floodgates for a brand new technology of up to date artists of Latin descent who would go on to take pleasure in large recognition with mainstream American audiences. She usually sang in Spanish and spoke in English, reflecting a cross-cultural identification that resonated with listeners.
She received her first Grammy in 1994 for finest Mexican/Mexican-American album for “Live,” turning into the primary feminine Tejano artist to win the class. She was simply 23 when she was killed the next 12 months. However her legacy endures for Mexican People, Mexicans, Texans, Latinos and past.
Though she initially topped the charts because of her Spanish songs, Selena didn’t develop up talking Spanish. Somewhat she gave quite a lot of early interviews solely in English, permitting her to captivate the viewers together with her charisma and notably those that, like her, felt very near their Latin roots, however did not develop up talking the language. Selena realized the Spanish language in a while in life and subsequently began to present extra interviews in Spanish.
Due to her bilingualism, many within the music trade, and followers alike, noticed the English market as the following pure step for Selena after she conquered the Latin music scene.
Her posthumous English-language crossover album launched a couple of months after her loss of life, “Dreaming of You,” topped the Billboard 200, that includes hits like “I Could Fall in Love” and “Dreaming of You.” In 1997, a biographical film about her life, “Selena,” would shortly turn out to be a traditional, additional launching the profession of lead Jennifer Lopez.
Selena was additionally one of many first artists to make use of her title and movie star to develop into different companies ventures — opening clothes boutiques with built-in hair salons in Texas.
Since her loss of life, Selena and her picture stay widespread. She obtained a wax statue of Selena at Madame Tussauds Hollywood. Moreover, MAC Cosmetics launched a restricted version Selena make-up line — which prompted lengthy traces of followers hoping to get their palms on the make-up. Without end 21 additionally launched a clothes line celebrating her legacy.
In 2017, she obtained a posthumous star on the Hollywood Stroll of Fame. On the time, in accordance with a Hollywood Chamber of Commerce spokesperson, the gang was the largest-ever for a Stroll of Fame ceremony, breaking a 1998 file set by onlookers on the unveiling of the star for Mexican singer Vicente Fernández.
In 2021, she obtained a posthumous lifetime achievement award from the Grammys. There was no tribute.
Who’s Yolanda Saldívar?
Yolanda Saldívar, a former nurse, was the founder and president of Selena’s fan membership. She was additionally a supervisor of Selena’s clothes boutiques, Selena And so forth., however was fired in early 1995 after cash was found lacking.
How did Selena die?
On March 31, 1995, Selena went to Saldívar’s room on the Days Inn motel in Corpus Christi, Texas, to select up enterprise data she wanted for a tax submitting, in accordance with court docket testimony. A confrontation adopted.
Selena was shot within the again with a .38-caliber revolver within the motel room, ran outdoors and collapsed within the foyer. She was rushed to a close-by hospital and pronounced useless about an hour later.
Motel workers testified Selena named “Yolanda” in “room 158” as her attacker.
“I didn’t mean to do it. I didn’t mean to kill anybody,” a sobbing Saldívar stated throughout a 9-hour standoff with police, throughout which she held a gun to her head. She advised police she had purchased the .38-caliber revolver to kill herself.
What occurred at Yolanda Saldívar’s trial?
The trial was moved to Houston due to heavy publicity.
Prosecutors contended that Saldívar shot the 23-year-old after the singer’s household suspected her of embezzling $30,000. The protection argued the gun went off by accident.
On October 23, 1995, the jury convicted Saldívar of first-degree homicide. She was sentenced to life in jail, with the opportunity of parole after 30 years — starting in 2025.
Saldívar didn’t face the loss of life penalty as a result of the crime contained not one of the aggravating circumstances required below Texas legislation, similar to a a number of homicide or a homicide dedicated throughout a theft.
In 1999, the Court docket of Prison Appeals in Austin turned down Saldívar’s first plea for a brand new trial. In 2000, her lawyer Invoice Berchelmann requested the state to revisit the trial. He argued that prosecutors wrongly dismissed potential jurors due to race, didn’t disclose the prison file of a witness and made improper feedback in court docket. He stated police additionally violated Saldívar’s rights by interrogating her after she requested for an lawyer.
In 2009, Saldívar misplaced an attraction as a result of it was filed within the improper county. She had requested the court docket to order an attraction filed 9 years earlier in Nueces County to maneuver ahead, however the state’s highest prison appeals court docket stated it ought to have been filed in Harris County, the place she was tried and convicted.
She’s incarcerated on the Patrick L. O’Daniel jail unit in Gatesville, Texas, about 90 minutes north of Austin.
How does parole work in Texas?
In Texas, the parole division of the state’s Division of Prison Justice identifies inmates six months earlier than the date of their preliminary parole eligibility and pulls their case file for evaluate. Discover of an inmate’s eligibility for parole is distributed to officers concerned within the trial, any victims and victims’ members of the family.
An institutional parole officer with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles interviews an inmate and prepares a abstract for the board. The sufferer or the sufferer’s members of the family can present a written assertion and might seem in individual earlier than board members.
The inmate’s file is then despatched to the parole board and voted on by a three-person panel. The panel will vote on a case simply previous to the inmate’s parole eligibility date and a majority of two votes is required for a last choice.
In Texas, the board doesn’t conduct public parole hearings. Parole launch choices are made independently by every panel member.
Representatives for members of Quintanilla-Pérez’s household didn’t instantly reply to The Related Press’ request for remark this week.
