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True Crime Obsessed

Let The Women: Amanda Villegas on Getting Free

True Crime Obsessed

True Crime Obsessed

True Crime, Comedy, Society & Culture

4.234.9K Ratings

🗓️ 30 June 2022

⏱️ 48 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Amanda was a single mother –struggling financially and working tirelessly– when she came home one day in 2011 with her daughter and turned on the news. A movement had been building in her town of El Paso, Texas around the wrongful conviction of Daniel Villegas. So, she wrote him a letter, turned her life upside down and made history. Here’s how one woman fought for someone else and found herself in the process.

This episode is part of a ten-part series called Let The Women Do The Work. Join host Gillian Pensavalle as she follows the stories of ten dynamic, inspiring, badass women in true crime.

This week's sponsors:

HelloFresh - Go to HelloFresh.com and use code women16 for up to 16 free meals AND 3 free gifts.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hello Superkins here, and I've teamed up once again with the LEGO Group to bring you series

0:04.3

two of my podcast at your leisure. Join me as I chat to chart toppers, catch up with comics

0:10.9

and yak with YouTube legends, finding out what they get up to when they're not busy being famous.

0:16.8

Expect more excellent guests, sharing more unusual hobbies.

0:22.0

So why not join us on the journey? Listen to the at your leisure podcast with me,

0:26.4

Superkins on Global Player. Hey, Amanda.

0:30.7

Jillian! Hi, girl. Jillian Pennsylvania.

0:34.9

Amanda, I guess, pen and up. That's it. I feel like we've known each other for like 20 years.

0:41.7

How does that work? You texted me about running around naked on my birthday because that's how I

0:45.3

came into this world. Yes, how he is. I feel like we're soul sisters from a past life.

0:50.6

Hi, Jillian here. And welcome to Let the Women Do the Work, the podcast where we look at true crime

0:59.4

from the perspectives of the women involved. Because in all these stories, there's a woman on the

1:04.0

sidelines, in the courtroom, at home, and in the streets holding together the threads of support

1:09.6

for a story they believe in. And in this episode, we're going to go all those places with someone

1:14.6

who is a fighter in the long, arduous journey for someone else's freedom. Amanda Villegas is a

1:20.1

wrongful conviction advocate based in El Paso, Texas. She's particularly focused on providing support

1:25.5

for the loved ones of the wrongfully convicted. She knows what it's like to be on that roller coaster

1:30.1

fighting from the outside for someone you love. And let me be clear, no one's really cut out for

1:36.7

that sort of thing. As a matter of fact, no one should ever even go through it. But if anyone's

1:42.1

up to the task, it's Amanda. You have to be a little crazy. You know, my family, when I told Emma,

1:47.9

I was dating somebody who had a life sentence, you know, their law enforcement. And

1:53.0

right. Yeah. They learn, they know me. So they know, like don't push up against Amanda,

...

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