Kamaya Flores was just 15 months old when she died in 2013. Methamphetamine was found in her bloodstream. Her tiny body showed signs of severe trauma—broken ribs, a lacerated liver, facial bruises, and signs of suffocation. The man responsible? Her father, Darian Lee McWoods.
After years of delay, justice finally seemed to arrive in 2018 when an Oregon jury convicted McWoods on multiple counts, including murder by abuse and first-degree manslaughter. He was sentenced to life in prison. But now, thanks to Judge Josephine Mooney and a new wave of race-first “equity” justice, that sentence has been vacated—and McWoods is on his way out the prison door.
Why? Because Mooney ruled that the removal of two Black jurors in the original trial showed racial bias. Instead of retrying the case, prosecutors cut a deal with McWoods, allowing him to plead to lesser charges. He’ll serve only 10 years total—just a year and a half more, considering time already served.
Let that sink in: a man who killed his own daughter in one of the most brutal child abuse cases in Oregon history is now being granted a sweetheart deal in the name of “equity.”
Judge Mooney, an open advocate of left-wing legal activism, has proudly stated she views the law through the lens of social justice, not just justice. Speaking to the International Association of LGBTQ+ Judges, she said, “I’m firmly committed to following the rule of law in a way that supports a diverse and open society.” She added that legal rulings must reflect “a conscious effort to see things from another person’s perspective.”
Apparently, that “perspective” means ignoring the evidence of a murdered toddler if the defendant’s racial makeup doesn’t match the jury’s.
The result? A father who inflicted unimaginable pain and suffering on his baby girl is now being rewarded, not punished. Kamaya’s life ended in agony, but the man responsible will soon be a free man—all because a judge believed the original jury couldn’t possibly reach a fair verdict without meeting a racial quota.
But is racial bias even a real factor in jury verdicts? Not according to a 2024 study conducted by researchers at Baylor, Texas A&M, and Japan’s Hitotsubashi University. The study found no measurable racial bias in convictions, even after analyzing jury data across multiple metrics.
In fact, the research concluded that “even small amounts of racial bias” could be ruled out and stated plainly: “We conclude that at least in this setting, there is little evidence that American jurors engage in racial bias against Black defendants.”
Yet this didn’t stop Oregon’s judiciary from handing out what many are calling a political get-out-of-jail-free card. It also didn’t stop prosecutors—perhaps fearing political fallout—from letting the killer go with a slap on the wrist.
This isn’t justice. It’s ideology run amok. And it’s a chilling preview of what happens when courts stop evaluating guilt and innocence and start prioritizing diversity metrics over the law.
Kamaya Flores deserved better. The justice system failed her—again. And this time, it wasn’t because of bad evidence, bad cops, or bad witnesses. It was because a judge let race trump truth.