Gladys Bautista Vasquez, the grief-stricken mother of a 13-year-old boy whose soccer coach allegedly sexually abused and murdered him, initially supported the death penalty for her son’s killer. However, she has since had a change of heart and now believes the perpetrator should endure a lifetime of suffering for his heinous crime.
“Life behind bars is a punishment that lasts longer [than execution],” stated Bautista Vasquez at a recent press conference, flanked by two enlarged photos of her late son. One image captured a younger Oscar Omar Hernandez subtly smiling in a black tie; the other showed him as a teenager playing his favorite sport in a soccer jersey, shorts and tennis shoes on a green field.
On Monday, Bautista Vasquez and her family attended the news conference with their attorneys to announce two legal claims against the county and city of Los Angeles. The lawsuits allege negligence in failing to protect her child…