Patience

Summary

Criminal Podcast: "Patience" (Sept 26, 2025)

Host: Phoebe Judge
Reported by: Caroline Kitchener
Theme: The criminal prosecution of Patience Russo, a woman who suffered a late miscarriage and was charged under an obscure abortion law in Nevada, exploring issues of poverty, reproductive rights, small-town justice, and the personal aftermath.

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Episode Overview

This episode examines the harrowing story of Patience Russo, a young mother living in rural Nevada who suffered a miscarriage and was subsequently arrested, prosecuted, and imprisoned under a century-old abortion law. Through interviews, court documents, and first-person accounts, the episode explores the criminalization of pregnancy outcomes, the interpretation of old laws in modern times, and the deep personal and social repercussions of her ordeal.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. The Raid: Law Enforcement at Patience’s Door

• [01:22-03:30]
  • Officers show up at Patience’s home in SWAT-like gear, initially leading her to believe they're after her live-in boyfriend.
  • They are, in fact, there for her, referencing a recent Facebook post about a cross marking a grave for her lost child, Abel.
  • Officers question Patience about the cross and her Facebook post:
    “Why would you be sorry, Abel? That's not something you would put for a cat. Why would you be sorry?” – Officer/Caroline Kitchener ([03:31])
  • Patience, confused, eventually discloses her miscarriage.

2. Background: Poverty, Isolation, and Substance Use

• [05:21-09:14]
  • Patience’s life marked by housing insecurity, living out of her car, raising two children.
  • She becomes pregnant but can’t afford, nor access, abortion services in Reno, 2.5 hours away.
  • Attempts "natural" remedies found online (cinnamon capsules) to induce a miscarriage; nothing happens.
  • Experiences miscarriage alone, attempts CPR; buries Abel herself and marks grave with a cross.
  • “I tried giving him CPR. I tried everything I could think of. I couldn’t get any movement out of him.” – Patience Russo ([09:20])

3. The Investigation: Community Suspicion and Official Zeal

• [13:05-16:33]
  • Facebook post reaches deputy Jacqueline Mitchum, who personally knows Patience through a shared babysitter.
  • Mitchum, moved by her own emotional connection and conviction (as a mother), circumvents chain of command to pursue a search warrant.
  • “She just had a real conviction about it... she still felt very strongly that that is what had happened... and that conviction was what drove her to really pursue the case.” – Caroline Kitchener ([14:20])
  • No evidence the fetus was born alive; medical examiner finds no support for murder.

4. Legal Catch-22: A 1911 Abortion Law

• [17:19-19:35]
  • Unable to pursue homicide charges, officers locate an obscure 1911 law prohibiting self-managed abortion after 24 weeks.
  • Patience confesses to taking cinnamon in hopes it would end the pregnancy, though there's no scientific support this was the cause.
  • She’s charged with manslaughter and concealing a birth.

5. Community Reaction and Isolation

• [21:19-22:25]
  • The case stirs up local outrage and harassment; Patience is subjected to threats and hostile messages.
  • “I was messaged all the time being told to go kill myself, and it became a lot for me to handle.” – Patience Russo ([21:19])
  • Her lawyer writes: “Winds of prejudice have arisen. A lynching-like atmosphere hangs heavy over the city of Winnemucca.” ([21:30])

6. Sentencing and Incarceration

• [23:59-24:39]
  • Patience accepts a plea deal expecting probation and a brief jail sentence, but receives 2.5–8 years.
  • In women's prison, she faces stigma, violence, and emotional trauma:
  • “You get treated like you're the worst of the worst. I had one lady threaten to pull me off my bunk and beat me with locks in a sock until I was not breathing anymore.” – Patience Russo ([24:18])

7. Legal Redemption: Intervention by Laura Fitzsimmons

• [24:59-27:56]
  • Retired defense lawyer and abortion rights advocate Laura Fitzsimmons takes up Patience's case, arguing the law shouldn't apply and the public defender failed her.
  • Public defender admits fault: “I fall on the sword.” ([27:56])

8. Vacated Conviction and Final Resolution

• [28:09-31:11]
  • Medical experts testify that nothing Patience did, including taking cinnamon, caused the outcome.
  • The judge calls the prosecution a "total miscarriage of justice":
    • "...she is instead just a mother caught hopelessly in the web of poverty with a lack of any support system... a, quote, total miscarriage of justice." – Judge’s decision, paraphrased by Caroline Kitchener ([29:06])
  • Conviction vacated due to ineffective counsel; Patience released after 2+ years in prison.

9. Lingering Trauma: Custody of Abel’s Remains

• [31:48-33:00]
  • Patience only learns, through the podcast reporting, that her son’s ashes are in Deputy Mitchum’s home, not with her.
  • “I’m taking him. That’s my baby.” – Deputy Mitchum ([31:48])
  • Fitzsimmons is working to retrieve Abel’s remains for Patience.

10. Looking Forward

• [33:00-end]
  • In 2024, the judge finally dismisses the case with prejudice:
    • “I’m dismissing this case with prejudice. You don't have any evidence that can show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It's over.” – Judge, as relayed by Laura Fitzsimmons ([33:00])
  • Patience and Laura remain close, talking weekly. Patience has rebuilt her life, moved to Sioux Falls with her children, and is striving for normalcy.

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Notable Quotes and Memorable Moments

• [03:46] Patience Russo: “I had a miscarriage, ok? Why is having a miscarriage a problem? Why is this illegal?”
• [09:20] Patience Russo: “I tried giving him CPR. I tried everything I could think of. I couldn’t get any movement out of him.”
• [14:20] Caroline Kitchener (on Deputy Mitchum): “She just had a real conviction about it, you know, having no evidence, she still felt very strongly that that is what had happened.”
• [21:19] Patience Russo: “I was messaged all the time being told to go kill myself, and it became a lot for me to handle.”
• [24:18] Patience Russo (on prison): “You get treated like you're the worst of the worst. I had one lady threaten to pull me off my bunk and beat me with locks in a sock until I was not breathing anymore.”
• [27:56] Public Defender (per Laura Fitzsimmons): “I fall on the sword.”
• [29:06] Caroline Kitchener (judge’s ruling): “Patience has been portrayed as an antichrist, but this judge thinks she is instead just a mother caught hopelessly in the web of poverty with a lack of any support system. And he describes Patience's case as a, quote, total miscarriage of justice.”
• [31:48] Deputy Mitchum: “I’m taking him. That’s my baby.” (referring to keeping Abel’s ashes)
• [33:11] Patience Russo: “It means they can't. They can't touch me.”

---

Timeline / Timestamps

| Time | Segment Description | |------------|-----------------------------------------------------------------------| | 01:22 | Police arrive at Patience's house | | 03:11-03:46| Bodycam and questioning about the Facebook post | | 05:21 | Background on Patience’s living situation and pregnancy | | 09:14 | Description of miscarriage and aftermath | | 13:05 | How Patience came under suspicion (babysitter, Deputy Mitchum) | | 17:19 | Officers find obscure 1911 abortion law | | 19:35 | Charges explained and focus on intent | | 21:19 | Patience describes harassment and community reaction | | 23:59 | Sentencing and experience in prison | | 24:59 | Laura Fitzsimmons takes up her legal cause | | 28:09 | Medical testimony and reversal of conviction | | 29:06 | Judge’s written decision and Patience’s release | | 31:48 | Details of Deputy Mitchum retaining custody of Abel’s ashes | | 33:00 | Final dismissal of charges with prejudice | | 33:11 | Patience reflects on finally being free from prosecution | | 34:00+ | Current life and ongoing relationship between Patience and Laura |

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Takeaway

“Patience” is a powerful, emotional account illustrating how outdated laws and personal biases can collide, particularly in the fraught space of reproductive justice and poverty. The case exemplifies the unintended consequences of archaic statutes, the zeal of law enforcement informed by emotion rather than evidence, and ultimately the pivotal role of committed legal advocacy. Patience’s story underlines the vulnerability of women in poverty and the dangers of prosecuting pregnancy outcomes.

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Further Reading:

• Caroline Kitchener’s Washington Post feature: She said she had a miscarriage, then got arrested under an abortion law.

Produced by: Criminal team (see [35:00] for credits)

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Transcript

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Caroline Kitchener]

Support for this show comes from Pure Leaf Iced Tea when you find yourself.

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Caroline Kitchener]

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[Phoebe Judge]

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[Caroline Kitchener]

The reset button, grab a Pure Leaf iced Tea. Time for a tea break. Time for a Pure Leaf.

[Phoebe Judge]

This episode contains descriptions of miscarriage. Please use discretion.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Patients hears a knock at the door. She goes to open it and there are a bunch of sheriff's deputies and police officers standing at the door. Several of them are wearing sort of full like SWAT looking gear. They've got tactical vests on.

[Phoebe Judge]

In May of 2018, a 26 year old woman named Patience Russo was living in a town in rural Nevada called Winnemaca. A few months earlier, she and her two young children had moved in with a man who'd offered them a place to stay. It was a Saturday morning when a group of officers showed up at her door. Here's reporter Caroline Kitchener.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Her first thought is, you know, they're here for the guy that she's living with. You know, she figures, you know, maybe he's in some kind of drug trouble.

[Phoebe Judge]

But then one of the officers started asking patients about something she posted on Facebook earlier that month.

[Caroline Kitchener]

And she realizes that they're here for her.

[Phoebe Judge]

About a month earlier, Patience had had a miscarriage. Afterwards, she found a miscarriage support group on Facebook that suggested that it could be helpful to name the baby she'd lost. She decided to call him Abel. She put up a small cross in the yard to remember him and posted on Facebook about him. She wrote, quote, I'm so sorry, Abel. The officers at her door were asking questions about the cross. At first, she told them the cross was for a cat she buried. One of the officers was recording everything with a body cam. Here's audio from that day.

[Patience Russo]

Yeah.

[Phoebe Judge]

If you knew anything about me.

[Patience Russo]

I rescued cats here for a while. Quite some time. Okay.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then an officer starts asking patients about the Facebook post. Well, let me.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Let me explain something to you, okay?

[Phoebe Judge]

I see a post on Facebook that.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Says, oh, I'm so sorry, Abel.

[Phoebe Judge]

That's not something you would put for a cat. Why would you be sorry?

[Caroline Kitchener]

Why would you be sorry?

[Phoebe Judge]

Patients, I'm not allowed to have personal.

[Patience Russo]

Things in my life.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Seriously.

[Patience Russo]

I had a miscarriage, ok? Why is having a miscarriage a problem? Why is this illegal?

[Phoebe Judge]

Apparently, because I've done nothing wrong. We don't know how far along you are. The officer wearing the body cam and speaking in the footage is a sheriff's deputy named Jacqueline Mitchum. In the body cam footage, Jacqueline Mitchum and another officer continue speaking with patients, asking her questions about how far along she was, whether or not she currently has a job.

[Patience Russo]

What are we doing? Can we go? Can we stop this? Nope. Why?

[Caroline Kitchener]

Because we have a search warrant. You need to stay right where you are. Okay.

[Patience Russo]

So what are you searching for?

[Phoebe Judge]

We're gonna search in the.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Or in the house, and we're gonna search for the crosses.

[Patience Russo]

Okay. Okay.

[Phoebe Judge]

Later in the footage, Deputy Mitchum walks away from the house towards another officer holding a bucket and a shovel. He's standing near a small wooden cross. Did you see them going towards the cross? I mean, what did. What did you see?

[Patience Russo]

I watched him walk over there, and I watched him dig him up and then unwrap him and then carry him into the van.

[Phoebe Judge]

And. And. And were they telling you what law you had broken?

[Patience Russo]

No.

[Phoebe Judge]

I'm Phoebe Judge. This is criminal. Months earlier, in December of the previous year, Patience hadn't had a place to live. She was living out of her car, trying to figure out how to take care of her two young children. She met a man at a bar who asked if she wanted to move into a spare bedroom. She said yes. Soon after that, in February, Patience found out she was pregnant. She was worried that if the man found out, he'd kick her out and she'd have to live in her car again. The baby wasn't his. Abortion is legal in Nevada, so patients decided to get one.

[Patience Russo]

I mean, I. I didn't want to have another kid because I. I couldn't offer the ones. I had a very good life at the moment. I I called the abortion clinic in Reno and try to make an appointment. I was unable to get to Reno and let alone afford the cost of it.

[Phoebe Judge]

Patience didn't have a working car. And Reno is about a two and a half hour drive away from Winnemacca. There wasn't a closer option. Neither Patience nor the man she lived with had much money. At one point, Patience had to sell the tires on her car. She says she didn't have a working phone. The man she lived with eventually became her boyfriend. Patience remembers he spent a lot of time smoking meth and he would try to get her to join him. She says she tried to resist, but sometimes she'd give in. When she couldn't get to Reno for an abortion, she says she tried to figure something else out.

[Patience Russo]

I read online that if you took an excessive amount of cinnamon that it would naturally, without causing any harm, cause an abortion.

[Phoebe Judge]

There are some websites and forums talking about cinnamon and miscarriage where people suggest that cinnamon is a natural way to end a pregnancy. But there's no scientific evidence that this is true. Patients took the cinnamon capsules for a month. Then she stopped. She says she couldn't stand the taste. And nothing happened. Around 1am on April 21, patients woke up with an intense pain in her back.

[Patience Russo]

And I couldn't breathe. So I kind of like smacked the back of my, my rib cage here because sometimes it makes it easier to breathe because I have issues with my back and ribs. And that didn't work. So I went into the bathroom and took a shower. And that's when I noticed I was bleeding really bad. And I sat in the shower and cried for. For a little while.

[Phoebe Judge]

Patience didn't want the man she was living with to come in and realize what was going on. He still didn't know she was pregnant.

[Patience Russo]

So I got dressed quickly and ran out to the porch trying to hide from him. And that's when I ended up having Abel.

[Phoebe Judge]

Did you know immediately that there was no life?

[Patience Russo]

Yeah. I tried giving him cpr. I tried everything I could think of. I couldn't get any movement out of him.

[Phoebe Judge]

And then what did you do?

[Patience Russo]

I ran to the garage into where all of my stuff was in boxes. And I found some blankets and a towel and a teddy stuffed monkey. And I wrapped him up and I went and buried. Buried him and put a cross up.

[Phoebe Judge]

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[Caroline Kitchener]

And that Facebook post is what ultimately makes its way through a couple of different people to the sheriff's deputy.

[Phoebe Judge]

Deputy Jacqueline Mitchum and Patience already knew each other. Winnemucca is a very small town and they took their kids to the same babysitter.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Jack Mitchum actually was friends, you know, quite good friends with the Babysitter, and they would often talk about patients. You know, the babysitter spent a lot of time with patients as kids. So, you know, she would sort of confide in Jack Mitchum and talk to her about kind of what was going on with patients, sort of how often she was taking care of patients kids. And I think there was a lot of conversation about patience, parenting.

[Phoebe Judge]

About a month after patients had the miscarriage, the babysitter told Jacqueline she thought patients had been pregnant and gotten rid of her baby. She showed Jacqueline a picture where patients looked visibly pregnant and a picture of the wooden cross. Jacqueline told reporter Caroline Kitchner that the photos made her think about her own baby. She had a one year old son.

[Caroline Kitchener]

She told me in that moment, looking at those photos, she felt very confident that this baby had actually been born alive and that patients had killed it. Now, I think we need to pause and say that there's no evidence that that is the case. But that is, I think it's important to say, because it's what she felt. And she had a. She just had a real conviction about it, you know, having no evidence, she still felt very strongly that that is what had happened. And that conviction was what drove her to really pursue the case, even when, you know, multiple people kind of told her to leave it be.

[Phoebe Judge]

But why did. Why did she think that? Why didn't she believe that this could have just been a miscarriage?

[Caroline Kitchener]

You know, I can't say exactly why she felt that. You know, when I interviewed her, she just said, you know, she kind of felt it in her bones for whatever reason. For Deputy Mitchum, who was also a mother of young children, this all just felt very personal and it felt very emotional. And she really, you know, quite early on in this case, started to see this fetus or this baby that patients had lost as her own in a way, and felt a lot of ownership over the case for that reason.

[Phoebe Judge]

But there were people telling her to let it be, to not pursue this.

[Caroline Kitchener]

Absolutely. Yeah. Well, the first thing that she did when she got these photographs was to drive, you know, right to the sheriff's office and go to her superior and her superior superior and say, you know, I've got these. We gotta get a warrant. We gotta get a warrant right now. And both of the guys above her said, no, you don't have enough for a warrant. And so she actually goes around those two guys, and she told me that she called the district attorney herself and said, I really think I need to get a warrant for this. And she then went to find Another detective, who she thought would be more sympathetic to this case, and he was willing to sit down with her and. And write up a warrant.

[Phoebe Judge]

We reached out to Jacqueline Mitchum for the story, but she declined to comment. After she and the other officers dug up the remains, they brought them to the medical examiner. The medical examiner determined that patients pregnancy had ended in the third trimester between about 28 and 32 weeks. Was there any evidence that the fetus had been alive at birth?

[Caroline Kitchener]

No, there was not. And that was something that really kind of came up again and again. Was this fetus or baby, was it born alive? And there was never any evidence that was found to show that it was.

[Phoebe Judge]

Which meant Deputy Mitchum couldn't charge patients with murder.

[Caroline Kitchener]

And so, you know, Deputy Mitchum talked with the other detective, Detective Walls, about, you know, other kinds of charges that they might pursue. And it was actually Detective Walls that found this very unique and obscure 1911 law. And that law is titled taking drugs to terminate pregnancy. You know, basically saying that. That you can't terminate a pregnancy on your own.

[Phoebe Judge]

Four days after the police showed up at Patience's home, they brought her in for questioning.

[Patience Russo]

They told me I wasn't under arrest. They just wanted to talk. So they took me through a locked door and then through a second locked door into a conference room. And Officer Mitchum, Detective Walls, I think was his name, and another officer were in the room. And they shut the door, and they made it sound like they truly cared. And I truly didn't believe I'd done anything that wrong. So I told them everything that happened. And soon as I was done talking, Mitchum told me to stand up and put my hands behind my back and that she was arresting me.

[Phoebe Judge]

Patience Russo was arrested and charged with manslaughter, as well as a lesser charge of concealing a birth. Although abortion is legal In Nevada, the 1911 law the detectives found prohibits what Caroline Kitchener calls self managed abortions. The law says that if someone tries to have an abortion after 24 weeks by using, quote, any drug, medicine, or substance, or any instrument or other means and succeeds in ending the pregnancy, they can be charged with manslaughter. Nevada is the only state with a law like this. Here's Caroline.

[Caroline Kitchener]

And so they need to prove that she took some action that ended her pregnancy and that she did that with the intention of ending her pregnancy. So there's a lot of talk about Patience's drug use. And Patience was a drug user. She did smoke quite a bit of weed. And then there was some evidence that she had also been smoking methods. But the only thing that she did with the purpose of trying to end her pregnancy was ingesting the cinnamon. But it's unclear. You know, there's no kind of scientific link between cinnamon and having a miscarriage.

[Phoebe Judge]

At a preliminary hearing, Deputy Jacqueline Mitchum claimed that patients told her she smoked marijuana every day in an attempt to have a miscarriage. But Caroline says there's no record of patients telling the police she used either meth or marijuana to try to end her pregnancy. If she was found guilty, patients could be sentenced to up to 10 years in prison. She says she was worried about what would happen to her children. Her public defender made a deal if she pleaded guilty, the prosecutor would recommend a lighter sentence, probation, drug treatment and less than a year in the county jail. She says her public defender told her it was her best bet, so she agreed. While she waited for her sentencing hearing, she got out on bail. It seemed like everyone in town knew about what had happened. She remembers that once at a grocery store, some teenage boys yelled at her, calling her baby killer, and chased after her.

[Patience Russo]

I was messaged all the time being told to go kill myself, and it became a lot for me to handle.

[Phoebe Judge]

In a court filing, Patience's lawyer wrote, quote, winds of prejudice have arisen. A lynching like atmosphere hangs heavy over the city of Winnemucca. We'll be right back. Support for Criminal comes from Saks Fifth Avenue. Saks Fifth Avenue makes it enjoyable and effortless to shop for clothes and accessories that fit your personal style. Fall is here, and maybe you're thinking about adding classic, reliable pieces to your closet. Carefully crafted items that you can turn to over and over for a lifetime. Whether you're looking for a blazer from Prada or Gucci loafers, Saks will make shopping feel completely customized. They have stylists to help you in store, and Special features on Saks.com can filter for what suits your style and tastes. So if you want a personalized, easy shopping experience, head to Saks Fifth Avenue for the best fall arrivals and style inspiration. This message is brought to you by Apple Card. Each Apple product, like the iPhone, is thoughtfully designed by skilled designers. The Titanium Apple Card is no different. It's laser etched, has no numbers, and it earns you daily cash on everything you buy, including 3% back on everything at Apple. Apply for Apple Card on your iPhone in minutes, subject to credit approval. Apple Card is issued by Goldman Sachs Bank USA, Salt Lake City branch terms and more at applecard.com Patience Russo's sentencing hearing was on May 7, 2019, nearly a year after her arrest, because of the deal she had made with the prosecutor, she expected to be sentenced to probation, drug treatment, and less than a year in the county jail. But the judge sentenced her to between two and a half and eight years in prison. She was taken to the Florence McClure Women's Correctional center in Las Vegas, about a seven hour drive from Winnemucca. Between her arrest and her sentencing, patients had started seeing someone new and they'd gotten married. Her kids stayed with her husband when she went to prison. And what was prison like for you?

[Patience Russo]

It was awful. When I first got there, one of the other girls had gotten a hold of my paperwork and spread it throughout the prison.

[Phoebe Judge]

And what is it like to be in a. In a women's prison with the charge that you had?

[Patience Russo]

You get treated like you're the worst of the worst. I had one lady threaten to pull me off my bunk and beat me with locks and a sock until I was not breathing anymore.

[Phoebe Judge]

She says she tried to talk on the phone with her kids as much as she could. They'd ask her when she was coming home. And then about a year into her sentence, Patience got a phone call.

[Patience Russo]

I honestly thought it was a joke at first.

[Phoebe Judge]

Why?

[Patience Russo]

Because it was too good to be true.

[Phoebe Judge]

The call was from a lawyer named Laura Fitzsimmons. What did she say?

[Patience Russo]

That she believed in me.

[Phoebe Judge]

And what did she want to do?

[Patience Russo]

She wanted me to get free to go home with my kids. She believed I was innocent.

[Phoebe Judge]

Laura Fitzsimmons had been a criminal defense lawyer by the time she reached out to patients. She was retired, but was still involved in abortion rights in Nevada. In 1990, she helped pass a referendum to keep abortion legal in the state. One of the reasons abortion is still legal in Nevada is even after Roe v. Wade was overturned. Laura first heard about Patience's case when an acquaintance from Planned Parenthood reached out.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

And she called me and she said, I just heard there's a woman in prison for terminating her own pregnancy. And I said, well, that can't be.

[Phoebe Judge]

Laura started reading about patients. She learned about Patience's background, that she'd been physically abused by her father as a young child and had her first kid at 16. She'd been physically and sexually abused by boyfriends over the years. Laura read the case files about Patience's miscarriage and about the 1911 law.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

She's the only person, as far as we can tell, and we've really searched for it, that was ever prosecuted under this statute. Nevada is A very pro choice state, but we're the same state, the only state in the country that has a statute that subjects a woman to imprisonment for her own pregnancy outcome.

[Phoebe Judge]

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, many states put abortion laws into place that can punish doctors and other people who help facilitate abortions, but not the people getting abortions. In any case, when Laura read Patience's case files, she realized the 1911 law shouldn't even apply to her. Laura started gathering witnesses that could testify on Patience's behalf. The medical examiner, doctors and other medical experts, and Patience's public defender. Part of Lore's argument was that the public defender hadn't done his job properly, that he shouldn't have told patients to plead guilty. And at a hearing in front of a judge, the public defender agreed.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

And he acknowledged that he, you know, he didn't do what he should have done, which is pretty remarkable because lawyers have egos and that doesn't happen very often. It was extremely impressive.

[Phoebe Judge]

The public defender said, quote, I fall on the sword. Patience wasn't allowed to be at the hearing, but she watched it from prison on a TV monitor.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

The coroner was my first witness, and she said, listen, you know, nothing. I cannot say as a medical professional that anything patients did or everything she did, smoking pots, smoking meth, you know, taking cinnamon, none of that led to this pregnancy outcome. Another witness was this incredible obgyn. So he testified, and it was just a mind blower. He said, listen, this pregnancy outcome most likely came from other factors in her life, such as trauma, such as all this stuff. So, you know, no matter how much you point your finger at this woman and criticize her, no court of law could conclude that she caused this miscarriage.

[Phoebe Judge]

About a month later, the judge made.

[Caroline Kitchener]

His decision, and he writes this really emotional 40 page decision. He says Patience has been portrayed as an antichrist, but this judge thinks she is instead just a mother caught hopelessly in the web of poverty with a lack of any support system. And he describes Patience's case as a, quote, total miscarriage of justice.

[Phoebe Judge]

The judge vacated Patience's conviction on the grounds of ineffective assistance of counsel. Bohr called to tell Patience the news and was there to meet her when she got out on July 8, 2021. She'd been in prison for just over two years.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

And I, you know, was waiting outside the prison gates and she walked out. And that was the first time that I'd ever seen her.

[Patience Russo]

Laura's, she's awesome. If I could have a second mom, it would be her. She's. She's. Extremely understanding. But she's tough when she needs to be, even when she knows I don't want to hear it.

[Phoebe Judge]

Lore and Patience flew from Las Vegas to Reno. And then Patience drove home. What was it like seeing your kids again?

[Patience Russo]

It was great. They had grown so much in the two and a half years.

[Phoebe Judge]

Patience and her kids left Winnemucca and moved to South Dakota to live with Patience's mother. So was that it? Case closed? It was over?

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

Oh, gosh, no. Are you kidding? Sorry. You can tell I'm still really angry about this.

[Phoebe Judge]

Because the judge had vacated the conviction on the grounds that Patience's public defender hadn't done his job correctly, the district attorney still had the power to retry patients. For years, the possibility of being called back to Winnemacca to stand trial hung over patience's head. In 2022, patience had another child. She considered getting an abortion, but in the end decided not to.

[Caroline Kitchener]

I know from my conversations with her that she. Abel, really, he has stayed with her, and I think she felt like she needed to have this baby in some ways because of Abel.

[Phoebe Judge]

When she first got out of prison, patients didn't know where Abel's remains were. It wasn't until Caroline Kitchener wrote a story about patients for the Washington Post and interviewed Jacqueline Mitchum that she found out Abel's ashes were on a shelf in Deputy Mitchum's home. The remains had been cremated at a local funeral home and with patients in prison when unclaimed. So Deputy Mitchum told the funeral director everything that had happened and said, I'm taking him. That's my baby. The funeral director said, okay. When Caroline Kitchener asked Deputy Mitchum about it, she said that she was the only one who ever loved Abel. Laura Fitzsimmons is working on getting Abel's ashes back to return them to Patience. She spent years trying to get Patience's case closed for good. And in April of this year, almost four years after Patience got out of prison, the judge who originally sentenced her issued a ruling.

[Laura Fitzsimmons]

He said, I'm dismissing this case with prejudice. You don't have any evidence that can show guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. It's over.

[Patience Russo]

It means they can't. They can't touch me.

[Phoebe Judge]

Patience and Laura stay in touch. They talk on the phone every Tuesday. For a while, Patience lived with her mother in western South Dakota, but she and her kids recently moved across the state to Sioux Falls. It's a bigger city than Patience is used to, but she says it's worth it for her kids to have more to do they like to go to the lake and the zoo, and she says they're planning to visit every park in the city one by 1. Caroline Kitchener's article for the Washington Post is called she said she had a miscarriage, then got arrested under an abortion law. We'll have a link in the show Notes Criminal is created by Lauren Spore and me. Nadia Wilson is our senior producer. Katie Bishop is our supervising producer. Our producers are Susanna Roberson, Jackie Sajiko, Lily Clark, Lena Sillison and Megan Kinane. Our show is mixed and engineered by Veronica Simonetti. Julian Alexander makes original illustrations for each episode of Criminal. You can see [e-mail] and you can sign up for our [e-mail] Newsletter we hope you'll consider supporting our work by joining our membership program Criminal. Plus, you can listen to Criminal, this is Love and Phoebe reads a mystery without any ads. Plus you'll get bonus episodes. These are special episodes with me and Criminal co creator Lauren Sport talking about everything from how we make our episodes to the crime stories that caught our attention that week to things we've been enjoying lately. To learn more, go to thisiscriminal.com we're on Facebook at thisiscriminal and Instagram and TikTok at criminal underscore podcast. We're also on YouTube at YouTube.com criminalpodcast criminal is part of the Vox Media Podcast Network. Discover more great [e-mail] I'm Phoebe Judge, this is Criminal and Doug Limu and I always tell you to customize your car insurance and save hundreds with Liberty Mutual, but now we want you to feel it. Cue the emu music.

[Caroline Kitchener]

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[Phoebe Judge]

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[Caroline Kitchener]

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[Laura Fitzsimmons]

That may have been too much feeling.

[Phoebe Judge]

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