© Latinas in History 2008
Though
practically no details exist of Chepita, or Chipita, Rodríguez’s early
life, the date of her death on November 13, 1863, is very much in the Texas public
record. On that date she was executed for the alleged murder of a white horsetrader.
Rodríguez, a Texas resident since her family arrived in the region fleeing
political turmoil in Mexico in 1836, grew up without an education or ever learning
to speak the English language. She made a meager living as an innkeeper. The horsetrader,
John Savage, stopped at her place in 1863 and some time later, his body was discovered
down stream by a rancher. Rodríguez, now an “old” woman was arrested
for the crime although scant evidence was presented at the trial. Rodríguez
offered no defense, perhaps because she was protecting her son who was believed
to be the actual murderer. Many Historians and folklorists believe Rodríguez
was convicted unjustly. During the 1970s a groundswell of support for a posthumous
exoneration erupted from south Texas. In 1984 Senator Carlos Truán of District
20 initiated efforts to get the Texas legislature to clear her name. On June 13,
1985, the legislature adopted a resolution absolving her of the crime.
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