"The death of our sister Mariah and the prosecution of our parents tore our family apart. Just two days before Melissa Lucio was scheduled to be to be put to death, a Texas court on Monday halted her execution and sent her case back for review. And she did, saying she spanked the child, but never admitting to the use of deadly force. Her second life partner continued to rape her and threatened her with death. . The daughter, who was still a small child at the time, had to be examined by a doctor for a disability and was unstable when walking. All Rights Reserved. "No court has ever considered the new evidence of Melissa Lucio's innocence," says Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project and one of Lucio's attorneys. Her legal team, including attorneys from the federal public defender office in Austin and the Innocence Project, had filed a clemency petition with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking them to recommend that Gov. "When all of this happened, our family split up," he said. What does that mean?. Lucio, 52, had been set to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for the death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a city . John has organised sitdowns seeking the release of his mother and said he will continue fighting. She was sexually abused at the age of 6 by one of her family members (her mothers boyfriend). Born July 18, 1968, Lucio, 53, is known as a convicted killer. Her lawyers argue that credible science demonstrates that Mariahs death was caused by an accident and that Lucio was sentenced to death for a crime that never happened. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. 2023 BBC. If she is killed, she would be the first Hispanic woman to be executed in Texas in the modern era of the death penalty, and the first woman executed in Texas since 2014. The end result could be that she could obtain a new trial, Potkin said, and were confident if Melissa was retried today that she would be acquitted.. From the moment he walked into the interview room, Escalon testified, he knew that Lucio had done something. The notion that a person can determine anothers guilt or deception through their body language has been roundly discredited. On 27 April, Melissa Lucio was supposed to die. That's what Lucio told first responders and the police. Lucios attorneys say those injuries were actually the result of a fall down stairs outside the familys apartment. ", First published on April 11, 2022 / 11:29 AM. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish, and grief. Please give us a chance for peace. It was 2007, and Melissa was living a difficult life with her then-husband Robert Antonio Alvarez and her 12 children, while she was pregnant with twins. She was sexually abused by one of her family members (her mother's boyfriend) at the age of 6. Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed next week for a crime she says she didn't commit one that may not have even occurred. Lucio's attorneys say police had already decided on a narrative when they brought her in for interrogation. State Rep. Jeff Leach said, "As a conservative Republican myself who has long been a supporter of the death penalty in the most heinous cases, I have never seen I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio.". It was like, "Ugh, let her rot in Hell." Lawyers for Lucio have expressed optimism that a new trial would ultimately exonerate their client. As fast as my heart was pacing, thats how fast I was driving, John later told reporters at a press conference. Leach, a co-chair of the House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus, worked with Democratic Rep. Joe Moody to muster an unprecedented level of support for Lucio among an ideologically diverse group of more than 80 state representatives more than half of the members of the Texas House, a body that rarely comes to a decisive consensus about anything. I think she should be allowed to live as long as she does not have the possibility of parole. Lucios story resonated with Luna; a mom of three, Luna had struggled with drug addiction, lost her children to the states child welfare system, and gone to prison. They probably never will," her kids said in the letter. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. The appeals court remanded, or sent back, several claims Lucio raised in an application for a writ of habeas corpus which demands a public official show a valid reason for a persons detention and ordered the trial court to conduct a merits review.. Did you encounter any technical issues? Research says Mariah was physically abused, and people like Ms. Lucio often agree to conditions they never condemned while under tremendous pressure from the majority of people. Melissa Lucio, who maintained her innocence for nearly 14 years, was immediately interrogated and alleged nearly 100 times until she was manipulated by police officers into taking responsibility for Mariahs injury. The 53-year-old was convicted in 2008 for the murder of her 2-year- old daughter, and would be the first Latina killed by the state if her execution goes as planned. Specifically, the question is whether false testimony, faulty forensic practices, and hidden evidence tainted her conviction. However, she has maintained her innocence ever since. 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At Lucio's trial, expert witnesses for the defense were not allowed to testify as to why she might have given a false confession. She was convicted 14 years ago of murdering her 2-year-old . The news was celebrated by Lucio, her attorneys and her family, including her son Bobby Alvarez, who told reporters he and his siblings were trying to decide what to do for Mothers Day. On Monday, the CCA ordered Garcia to either recuse herself or have another judge rule on her disqualification within three days, Schardl explained. Learn how your comment data is processed. Everybodyknows who she is., Liliana Segura[emailprotected]theintercept.com@lilianasegura, Jordan Smith[emailprotected]theintercept.com@chronic_jordan. Update: Melissa Lucio's execution date has been set for April 27, 2022. 1894 shipwreck found in Lake Huron, confirming "powerful, tragic story", Bipartisan Senate group unveils rail safety bill in response to Ohio derailment, What to know about Shigella bacteria as drug-resistant strain spreads, Children plead to save mother from execution, Children say toddler's death was accident, plead to save mom from execution: "She's innocent". She prodded Luna, then her roommate, to watch the movie. Her lawyers say Lucio's history of sexual and physical abuse led to her giving an unreliable confession. Its not over by a long shot; this campaign has to continue, Bonowitz told a smattering of TV reporters. They probably never will," her kids said in the letter. She said she was constantly sexually abused by her first husband, who later left and separated with her five children. 2022 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Who is Melissa Lucio? Or sleeping well. But as new details have emerged about her case, a growing chorus of lawmakers, faith leaders, anti-domestic violence organizations and celebrities has called for clemency. More on The Lone Star Plate www.lonestarplate.showSabrina . Earlier, Lucio was sentenced to death back in 2008 and at the time when she was imprisoned, she was pregnant with twins, whom she had to give up for adoption as she could not have the nourishment of the babies in jail. Ms Lucio was taken in for questioning and was interrogated for almost five hours while she was pregnant and going through the shock of losing her young child, Mariah. While she technically remains on death row, her case is due to be reviewed again. "Evidence that could have been exculpatory?" She refuted Gilman's claims that some of Lucio's older children were unruly and hard to handle by foster parents. In a phone call on Monday, Johnny Galvan, one of several jurors who supported Lucios clemency petition, expressed relief upon hearing that the court had stayed Lucios execution. In 2019 the 5th U.S. She could see herself in Lucios story. SAN ANTONIO - The governor of Texas is under pressure to stop the planned execution of a mother convicted of killing her child. ? she exclaimed through tears. During Lucio's 2008 trial, prosecutors claimed she beat her daughter Mariah to death. Have you heard the news? There have also been questions about the testimony provided by the medical examiner alleging that injuries on Mariah's body were clear signs of abuse. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is the talk of the town after being the first woman of Hispanic descent in Texas to be sentenced to death. Please enter valid email address to continue. Lucio, a . A majority of the judges said the conviction had to be upheld because they were barred by a procedural rule that limits a federal court's ability to review state court findings. At the time, the family lived in a small two-bedroom, second-floor flat. "I am not here to shout," he said. But the state of Texas appealed the decision, and the case then went to the 17 judges that comprise the 5th Circuit. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. . Before all this, "we were a large family and we were very united", her eldest son, John, told BBC. Naturally, she has brown hair and almost no eyebrow. "Melissa didn't observe the fall herself. The documentary focuses on the case of Melissa Lucio, a woman convicted for the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter Mariah. She said that she was all the time sexually abused by her first husband who later left her along with five children and parted away. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Lucios lawyers argue that Dr. Norma Farley, the forensic pathologist who autopsied Mariah, misled the jury when she insisted that Mariahs injuries could only have resulted from a fatal beating. Melissa later told police that when she realised that Mariah was no longer inside the unit, she left to look for her and found her crying by the staircase, with a bit of blood on her lower teeth. In 2007, paramedics arrived at a tiny apartment that Melissa Lucio shared with her live-in . "The death of our sister Mariah and the prosecution of our parents tore our family apart. Mariah is in my heart today and always. According to Lucio, she was once sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend. Saenz's office did not respond to a request for comment on the case. And they say that Lucios interrogators a phalanx of investigators that included Texas Ranger Victor Escalon engaged in their own junk science. Armando Villalobos, the district attorney who brought the charges, is now in jail for bribery unrelated to the Lucio case, but that took place when she was tried. In 2020, a documentary about the case history of Melissa Lucio was directed by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa. AP Texas mother Melissa Lucio, who was convicted in the death of her two-year-old daughter Mariah, is scheduled to be executed April 27. The former Cameron County district attorney recently spent several years in federal prison for bribery and extortion. Lucioss life was not as simple and smooth as other childrens. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. The state did not test DNA or allow the defence's forensic pathologist to speak at the trial. "We ask you not to tear those wounds open again. Melissa Lucio was the epitome of every system in the state of Texas failing at every level: education, health, faith community, she said. hide caption. Texas woman on death row receives bipartisan support for clemency from state officials. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. Abbott's office did not respond to a request for comment, but in March the governor said he was awaiting a decision by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Prosecutors at trial argued Lucio, now 53, was an abusive mother who caused the injuries that led to her daughter Mariahs death. This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. The execution of Melissa Lucio is off. The movie was played at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020 and later won the honor of best documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio, dressed in white, leads a group of seven Texas lawmakers in prayer on April 6 in a room at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and gave birth to five children with her husband, who constantly abused Lucio throughout their relationship. Director of The State of Texas vs. Melissa, Sabrina Van Tassel argues for Melissa Lucio's retrial. Many were put up for adoption while others were split up and sent to live with relatives or placed in the custody of the . State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, and other members of the Texas House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus ask state officials to halt the execution of . That is our criminal jurisprudence system and it is working., The notion that Saenz would be eager to retry Lucio rather than drop the charges offended Death Penalty Action activist Charles Keith, who spent the past several months traveling to the Cameron County courthouse in Brownsville. Over the years, it has routinely allowed executions to go forward even in cases where there were serious questions about a defendants guilt. Following her conviction, she was sentenced to a death sentence by lethal injection in the year July of the . On 15th April Ms. Lucios attorney filed a habeas petition appealing for her client to seek a stay of her execution and argued that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and is falsely taken or misunderstood. "Right now, what I have is my family," Alvarez said. 2020 THE SUN, US, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | TERMS OF USE | PRIVACY | YOUR AD CHOICES | SITEMAP, Melissa Lucio was pregnant with twins when she was arrested in 2007. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. Get browser notifications for breaking news, live events, and exclusive reporting. Although the official documents state that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. But at least four of those jurors now agree Lucio should get a new trial, given the new evidence and testimony they didn't see. Two days later, she could not be woken from a nap and was pronounced dead at the hospital. But that's not why the American citizen of Mexican origin has made the headlines. The courts order sends the case back to Cameron County, where the trial court will be tasked with considering evidence on four claims that cut to the heart of the states case against Lucio. Who is Melissa Lucio? The children are featured in Van Tassel's documentary, as is original interview footage from the time of Lucio's arrest. April 28 2022, 3:00 a.m. Melissa Lucio's loved ones react to her stay of execution during a press conference in Gatesville, Texas, on April 25, 2022. Potkin says it's now recognized that "having a trauma history such as Melissa had, being a survivor of sexual abuse and domestic abuse, is a risk factor and vulnerability during custodial interrogation for false confession.". The trial court in Brownsville will hold proceedings to hear the evidence of Lucios innocence, Tivon Schardl, one of Lucios attorneys and the chief of the federal public defenders capital habeas unit in the Western District of Texas, said in a news conference Monday. Although the official documents say that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. "If Melissa does not get a stay by a certain day, then I will do what I have to do and stop it," Saenz said, as the Austin American-Statesman reported. Lucio's father died when Lucio was an infant, and her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley when Lucio was almost 3 to 4 years old. Melissa Lucio, a Mexican-American who is facing execution in Texas on April 27, 2022, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death after her daughter, Mariah, sustained injuries from an accidental fall. Its unclear how long the process could take. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. We put our hands up to the glass, and we all began to cry., The press conference was still underway when Saenz, the Cameron County district attorney, released a statement responding to the stay of execution: I welcome the opportunity to prosecute this case in the courtroom, where witnesses testify under oath, where witnesses can be cross-examined, where evidence is governed by the rules of evidence and criminal procedure, and where the court rules pursuant to the rule of law, it read. Im hoping its not the same evidence Mr. Villalobos had. The medical examiner concluded Mariah died from a blow to her head. Lucio endured more than five hours of interrogation in which she denied killing Mariah, said Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at The Innocence Project. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. She saw Mariah at the bottom with a bleeding lip, but she otherwise didn't appear to be seriously injured. Prosecutors said she confessed after this police interrogation, and on the testimony of one of the agents who said he was "convinced" she was guilty, and on the injuries that Mariah's body had shown at the time of her death. As a result, they argue, in part, executing her would violate constitutional guarantees of a right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment. 2023 Cable News Network. ", Speaking to CBS Mornings he said: 'If they go through with it, they'll be killing an innocent woman.. "It was an accident," he said. As Lucio's scheduled execution date draws near, Bobby Alvarez is soaking up every moment he has with his mother, while holding onto that small speck of hope. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. This is a beating. Medical experts who reviewed Lucios case now say that Mariahs injuries were entirely consistent with a fall down the stairs, and that Farley failed to rule out that possibility before jumping to her inflammatory conclusion. Lucio and her team had raised nine claims with the appeals court, four of which were remanded to the trial court. In 2007, Lucio's daughter Mariah passed away after sustaining injuries during a fall down a flight of stairs. "It's very common to be mistaken for abuse if you don't look for the signs.". Greg Abbott to either grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. Now she can prove her innocence. Two days later, her father called police when Mariah suddenly stopped breathing. 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