Please give us a chance for peace. 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. According to Lucio, she was once sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend. The two women friends and formerly incarcerated activists had joined a broad coalition of supporters pressing every lever they could think of to try to stop the execution, scheduled for April 27. The Texas courts have spared Melissa Lucio's life. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is an American woman sentenced to death in Texas on August 12, 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter on February 17, 2007. . Those documents, her lawyers argue, support Lucios claim that Mariahs health had deteriorated after falling down the stairs. In 2008, she was found guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. Juanita Hernandez and her son Juan hug Esperanza Hope Trevino, the mother of Melissa Lucio, during a vigil in San Juan, Tex., on April 22, 2022. "We ask you not to tear those wounds open again. 'That's my mother. In 2019 the 5th U.S. If the execution goes ahead, she would be the first Latina to be executed in the state of Texas. He has spent his entire adult life fighting for her release. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas after she confessed to beating her 2-year-old daughter, who later died. To inquire about a licence to reproduce material, visit our Syndication site. 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. After finding no other injuries, Melissa said she had continued on with her day. Melissa Lucios private life remained a mystery for many years until her daughter died and she was sentenced to prison. Although the official documents say that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. In recordings of an interrogation, Lucio who was pregnant with twins at the time is heard denying guilt. Melissa Lucio Early Life. 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. Although Melissa repeatedly told the police that she did not kill her daughter, they continued to interrogate her for five hours until she . It was sending her case back to district court to consider several pressing claims, including that Lucio was innocent in the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. The idea that the office mightve engaged in legal trickery to invigorate their case against Lucio is hardly surprising; then-District Attorney Armando Villalobos was trying to rehabilitate his reelection campaign amid allegations of corruption, and he was up against a challenger who had taken him to task for failing to prosecute child abuse cases. More than a quarter of people exonerated by the Innocence Project in recent decades had confessed to the crime they allegedly committed, as Science reported. Her first husband, the group says, was a violent alcoholic who left her after she gave birth to their five children. 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 . On 25th April 2022, the Texas Court issued a stay of execution and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence in the case of Lucio for her innocence regarding the death of her daughter Mariah. Her lawyers said thatthestatement was wrongly interpretedby prosecutors as a murder confession, tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariahs death. During Lucio's 2008 trial, prosecutors claimed she beat her daughter Mariah to death. The wounds never fully healed. Now, her family, more than 80 state lawmakers from both parties, and even some of the jurors who convicted her say she should live. "She is an innocent woman," John Lucio, Melissa's eldest son, told Latino USA at a protest outside the Cameron County Courthouse in February. "Evidence that could have been exculpatory?" The state of Texas has issued a death warrant seeking to execute Melissa Lucio (pictured), a battered woman who was sentenced to death for what may have been an accidental fall that killed her two-year-old daughter.She is scheduled to be executed April 27, 2022. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for racketeering and extortion. She was set to be executed on April 27, 2022, butwas granted a stay of execution two days priorby the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In 2007, paramedics arrived at a tiny apartment that Melissa Lucio shared with her live-in . 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. Separately, all eyes on Monday had been on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which had been expected to vote on a recommendation for clemency in Lucios case. Attorneys for Melissa Lucio filed for clemency on Tuesday, just a month before her execution date on April 27. 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. Gilman questioned why the CPS was trying to permanently revoke Lucio's . Lucio's supporters say many of the issues in her trial trace back to the head prosecutor in the case, Armando Villalobos. So heartbreaking to read this letter from Melissa Lucio's children begging for the state not to . After her conviction for Mariahs murder, Melissas children were taken from her care. She was set to be executed on April 27, 2022, butwas granted a stay of execution two days priorby the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Lucioss life was not as simple and smooth as other childrens. 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. Lucio, a . Legal team for Melissa Lucio She was convicted 14 years ago of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, and a Texas jury sentenced her to death. As the process unfolds, she will remain on death row, her legal team said. 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. Melissa Lucio is the first woman of an American Hispanic descent who was sentenced to death in Texas. Lucio's thoughts are with her children, Potkin said, as she talks to friends about the roles they could play in the life of her kids if she is not alive after next week. Two days later, her father called police when Mariah suddenly stopped breathing. April 25, 2022 by John Atsu. DeSantis won't say he's running. Child Protective Services was present in the family's life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. At the age of 16 she became a child bride but once again had to face an abusive marriage. According to the prosecutor, the injuries that were made to Mariah were the results of physical abuse while Lucios attorney says that the injuries were made to the daughter because she fell down the stairs two days before her death. Share. According to the reports, she has gone through a continuous and repetitive highly abnormal level of vulnerability. But she, her family and attorneys say she is innocent and was wrongfully convicted of capital murder. Learn how your comment data is processed. On Monday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution, indefinitely delaying Lucios execution and ordering her trial court to review several claims of relief her team had highlighted, including her assertion that she is innocent. Although interviews with Lucio's children, her mother, and her sisters give the clear sense that Melissa's family wants her home, it never really feels like the family members get comfortable . At the time, the family was moving homes, and she reportedly fell due to her physical disability, which left her feet turned to the side, making her unable to walk and prone to tripping. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. Texas is scheduled to execute Melissa Lucio next month. But the older children had it harder. Former Cameron County . 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. And that's what we're hoping for.". John and his wife, Michelle, were filming an interview with Univision in their hotel lobby when John stepped away to take a phone call from Assistant Federal Public Defender Tivon Schardl. That decision will ultimately turn on another motion filed by Lucios lawyers, seeking the recusal of Cameron County District Court Judge Gabriela Garcia, whose court administrator was also part of Lucios legal team. There were two possible avenues of relief for Lucio. Instead, Potkin says, the blood coagulation seen in Mariah's autopsy was the result of an accidental head injury, like a fall down stairs. She says she was coerced to confess by a Texas Ranger during her interrogation. Lucio has always maintained her innocence. They wrote: "[A] history of trauma significantly reduces the resilience of the trauma victims to cope with interrogative pressure. And certainly, the court system.. Lucio later had nine more children with her next husband, who was also found to be abusive towards her. Although the official documents state that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. 2. 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. While in interrogation, Lucio had denied murdering her child dozens of times, but her lawyers argue that her history of sexual assault and abuse often leads to false confessions, NPR reports. hide caption. John has organised sitdowns seeking the release of his mother and said he will continue fighting. In 2007, Ms. Lucio's youngest child, Mariah, accidentally fell down a flight of stairs. For other inquiries, Contact Us. Campaigners took up Melissa's cause as one of a miscarriage of justice. According to the Innocence Project, it was an abusive marriage. She had fallen asleep on her parents' bed, but never woke up again. Melissa Lucio, 53, is scheduled to be executed on April 27. Greg Abbott commute Lucios sentence, or at least grant a 120-day reprieve from execution. Lucios other claims did not meet statutory requirements, the appeals court found, and will not be reviewed. What evidence would you have? Speaking at the press conference, Keith responded to Saenzs statement. VideoAt the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece, Covid origin likely China lab incident - FBI chief, Blackpink lead top stars back on the road in Asia, Exploring the rigging claims in Nigeria's elections, 'Wales is in England' gaffe sparks TikToker's trip, Ukraine war casts shadow over India's G20 ambitions, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish, and grief. Mariahs father, Roberto Antonio Alvarez was also arrested in relation to her death but he was only convicted of endangering a child and sentenced to four years in prison. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. Moments later, he interrupted the interview. Published May 2, 2022 10:56 a.m. PDT. This child had more bruises than Ive ever seen in any case that I had before, she said. Texas woman on death row receives bipartisan support for clemency from state officials. At this time, it remains unclear if Lucio's execution will be overturned. I think she should be allowed to live as long as she does not have the possibility of parole. 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. But Lucio had no history of child abuse. Daniela is Melissa's eldest daughter. They probably never will," her kids said in the letter. Witness testimony from one of Mariah's siblings about the 2-year-old's fall down an uneven staircase two days before her death never made it before the jury, and expert witnesses were not allowed to testify on reasons why Lucio might have made a false "confession.". Around 3am, she told detectives, I guess I did it, reportedly in hopes that they would end the interrogation, according to the Innocence Project. "Or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on her for whatever reason?" The wounds never fully healed. 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. On the other hand, Lucio said that she was pressured to have false statements regarding the allegations. . But it seems the relentless pressure from activists and lawmakers, combined with the mounting evidence of Lucios innocence, was too much to simply ignore. "Are you a cold-blooded killer?" As per the data, Melissa Lucio is only 5 feet 2 inches tall. Melissa Lucio is the mother of 14 children, five from her first marriage and nine from her second, according to the Innocence Project. 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. Opinion is divided on her guilt, though - many of her living children have backed up her claim of innocence, and five of the jurors who convicted her have since expressed misgivings over the verdict. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called "capital murder". "Melissa didn't observe the fall herself. The kind of reporting we do is essential to democracy, but it is not easy, cheap, or profitable. Meg & Harry 'stunned' by King's 'cruel' Frogmore eviction 'punishment', Harry and Meghan evicted from Frogmore Cottage by King Charles after Spare memoir, Emmerdale's Amy Nuttall caught cheating hubby after sexy lingerie slip-up, Shoppers are rushing to buy 23 beauty staple for just 99p at Home Bargains, News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Were confident that with the new evidence of innocence, if Melissa was retried today that she would be acquitted, Innocence Project attorney Vanessa Potkin told reporters on Monday afternoon. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reviewed Lucio's case and overturned it, finding that she had been denied the opportunity to present a full defense at her trial and that a new trial was warranted. 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. Read about our approach to external linking. The trial court will also be asked to consider the claim that Lucio is innocent of murder. According to court documents submitted by Lucio's attorneys, she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend starting at the age of 6 abuse that lasted for two years . Later, after having lots of letters, penalties, executions, and statements of defense from the side of Lucios attorney, Lucio was still put in the questioning for the murder of her youngest child at that time out of a total of 12 children born to her due to two marriages. The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. After her conviction for Mariahs murder, Melissas children were taken from her care. 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. All Rights Reserved. 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. The lawyers asked the court to block the execution and send the case back to the lower court for further scrutiny and ultimately, a new trial. Leach and a handful of colleagues traveled to visit Lucio in prison. But the state of Texas appealed the decision, and the case then went to the 17 judges that comprise the 5th Circuit. Without any legal representation, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by Cameron County TX police for 7 hours. 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. Babe, he said to Michelle, his voice filled with emotion. Born July 18, 1968, Lucio, 53, is known as a convicted killer. ", "Everything," he replied. Thats what brought Luna and Toon to the Capitol on April 25. Before all this, "we were a large family and we were very united", her eldest son, John, told BBC. After reviewing her claims and the evidence, the court would then make a recommendation to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which would ultimately decide whether Lucio gets a new trial. 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. At Lucio's trial, expert witnesses for the defense were not allowed to testify as to why she might have given a false confession. As of 2021, Melissa has been on death row for 13 years. Did you encounter any technical issues? And so she has to confront that reality, too, that the execution could go forward.". Her young daughter Mariah died and had many injuries like bruises on her head kidneys lungs spinal cord and other places. Her lawyers said thatthestatement was wrongly interpretedby prosecutors as a murder confession, tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariahs death. At times, they were homeless and relied on food banks for meals, according to a clemency petition issued by her lawyers. Calls for mercy grow days before Melissa Lucio is set to be executed, I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence, Lucio said in a statement. The state of Texas has scheduled the execution of the case of Melissa Lucio for the 27th of April. The state called it an admission of guilt for Mariah's death. April 11, 2022 / 11:29 AM Among the experts her attorneys sought to put on the stand was a psychologist who planned to testify that Lucio's history as a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse helped explain why she told interrogators what they wanted to hear even if it wasn't true. They implored him to step up and withdraw it. The latest bid to spare Melissa Lucio's life comes 14 years after she was sentenced to death in a capital murder case involving the youngest of her dozen children at the time.

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