Raquel Nelson Offered New Trial, Following Outpouring of Grassroots Support

This morning, Raquel Nelson went to her sentencing hearing facing the dire prospect of three years in jail away from her two children.

This afternoon, in a thrilling turn of events, Raquel emerged from the courtroom allowed to go home to her family, after an outpouring of national media attention around her case and intense support for her cause from more than 140,000 people taking action through a viral petition on Change.org.

Cobb County Judge Katherine Tanksley gave Ms. Nelson an "unusual" choice: 12 months probation and community service, or a new trial. The outcome does two positive things that thousands of people have been demanding: It keeps Raquel out of jail for now and hopefully for good, and offers her at least the choice to clear her name before a new jury.

I spoke with Raquel's aunt Loretta Williams, who conveyed a message from Raquel to the 140,000 people who rallied in outrage over the lack of sympathy shown by the prosecutor and jury who convicted Raquel for the hit-and-run death of her son A.J.:

"I'm so incredibly thrilled that the judge was compassionate, and I can go back home to be with my children. I want to offer my warmest thank you to all of the people who came to Change.org and supported me through the petition, and who spread the word about my case."

The petition took off in the 48 hours before the sentencing trial, especially after Ms. Nelson appeared on The Today Show on Monday morning and other media outlets gave even more attention to the case. It gained more than 80,000 signatures in the 24 hours before the hearing. “The outpouring of support from across the country for Raquel Nelson has been incredible,” said Corinne Ball, Director of Organizing at Change.org. “People have been moved by her story, and Change.org is happy that the petition provided an outlet for people to support Ms. Nelson.”

Eliza Harris, an urban planner in Orlando, Florida, created the petition originally after reading a blog post about Raquel Nelson's case on Transportation For America's site (read more from Eliza here). After hearing about the judges decision, Eliza said, "I thank the judge for doing the best she could given the existing verdict...I believe Raquel deserves to be named innocent. Either way, I commend her for her strength in this difficult situation."

Raquel will now be consulting with her legal team about the best path forward for her and her family.

She also supports the other aspect of Eliza Harris's petition, which asks that Cobb County consider installing a crosswalk at the dangerous intersection where A.J., Raquel's 4-year-old son, was killed by a hit-and-run driver.

Eliza and Change.org will be keeping the petition active and pushing on this front, as Raquel and her family decide their next legal steps.

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Photo credit of crash scene: Transportation for America