Someone Stole Her ID. She Went to Jail for 49 Days

Joy Morales is suing over her false imprisonment in New Mexico
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Jun 8, 2018 1:02 PM CDT
Someone Stole Her ID. She Went to Jail for 49 Days
   (Getty/txking)

A New Mexico woman wrongly jailed for weeks in two states after someone stole her identity is suing a New Mexico county and a city that ignored her pleas that they had the wrong person, reports the AP. The Hobbs News-Sun reports lawyers for Joy Morales recently filed a lawsuit against Lea County and the city of Hobbs for refusing to believe Morales was a victim of identity theft and for erroneously holding her over the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays in 2015. The lawsuit says Morales begged for an attorney, but New Mexico officials told her to write a letter. Authorities then extradited Morales to Arizona on a bench warrant. Arizona officials released her after 49 days in jail when fingerprints showed they had the wrong woman. (This man was wrongly imprisoned for nearly 40 years.)

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