"At some point they didn't hear Mariah playing anymore, went to check on her, and she had managed to get out of the screen door and was at the bottom of the staircase," says Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney. Two days later, Mariah went to take a nap and did not wake up. Potkin said that now is a complicated time emotionally for Lucio. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is the talk of the town after being the first woman of Hispanic descent in Texas to be sentenced to death. Specifically, the question is whether false testimony, faulty forensic practices, and hidden evidence tainted her conviction. As fast as my heart was pacing, thats how fast I was driving, John later told reporters at a press conference. This couldve been me, she said. Evidence that could have helped Melissa, such as the testimony of expert witnesses and her other children, was not admitted into the original trial. Born July 18, 1968, Lucio, 53, is known as a convicted killer. Lucios life wasnt as easy and smooth as other childrens. Now she can prove her innocence. Dozens of politicians from both parties have backed her. Her attorneys are seeking either a lesser charge, to remove Lucio from death row or a . This child had more bruises than Ive ever seen in any case that I had before, she said. "Do it real hard," he said. "Oh, it's definitely exculpatory," Schardl replied. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called "capital murder". I think she should be allowed to live as long as she does not have the possibility of parole. Its not over by a long shot; this campaign has to continue, Bonowitz told a smattering of TV reporters. . 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. Leach and a handful of colleagues traveled to visit Lucio in prison. The state called it an admission of guilt for Mariah's death. ", Now, the power to save Lucio lies in the hands of Texas' Republican Governor Greg Abbott, the Board of Pardons and Parole, and the current Cameron County District Attorney, Luis V. Saenz, whose office said in a statement to CBS News: "A jury of (Lucio's) peers rendered to her a verdict. By Maurice Chammah. Keith knew all too well what Lucios loved ones had just been through: His own brother, Kevin Keith, came less than two weeks from execution in Ohio despite doubts over his guilt. The former Cameron County district attorney recently spent several years in federal prison for bribery and extortion. 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 is the mother of 14 children, including Mariah. Among the suppressed evidence, her attorneys say, are indications police and prosecutors knew other family members were aware of Mariahs fall down the stairs and that no one had described the abuse Mariah allegedly suffered. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). But today, multiple expert pathologists agree Mariah could have suffered a head injury from a fall, leading to a disorder that causes extreme bruising. To prevent Lucio from being executed, Texas Gov. January 25, 2022, 9:34 AM, CST. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for racketeering and extortion. For a time, the only access they had to water was through their neighbours' houses or from the parish.". During an emotional press conference he stated, "I don't want my mom to be executed. A Texas mother convicted of murdering her 2-year-old child has been granted a stay of execution just two days before she was scheduled to die. Update: Melissa Lucio's execution date has been set for April 27, 2022. AMY GOODMAN: Melissa Lucio is a mother of 14 children. Please give us the chance for closure. That is wonderful. We cannot allow the rule of law to be suspended and substituted by a court of public opinion.". I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren". 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. . 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. He was accompanied by family members as well as Sabrina Van Tassel, the director of The State of Texas v. Melissa, who had traveled from Paris to witness Lucios execution. Melissa Lucio is an American woman who belongs to Hispanic descent and has been sentenced to death in Texas. According to an interrogation with Lucio about the death of their then-youngest child, Mariah fell down a flight of stairs in February 2007 while the family was moving. The lawyers also claim that the DAs office illegally withheld from Lucios trial counsel crucial documents generated by the states child welfare agency. But although Lucio had a history of being investigated by Child Protective Services, she had no history of physically abusing her kids. 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. She is the mother of 14 children, including Mariah. 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. . 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. Protestors outside the Cameron County Courthouse advocate to overturn Melissa Lucio's death sentence. More on The Lone Star Plate www.lonestarplate.showSabrina . On April 15, Ms Lucios lawyer filed a habeas petition, appealing to her client to seek a stay of her execution, arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and wrongly arrested or misunderstood become. 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. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz who was not the DA at the time of Lucio's trial told Texas lawmakers last week that he would move to delay Lucio's execution if the Board of Pardons and Paroles rejects calls for clemency and the courts don't intervene. Lucio's children previously wrote a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, pleadingGov. "We ask you not to tear those wounds open again. Daniela is Melissa's eldest 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. And they say that Lucios interrogators a phalanx of investigators that included Texas Ranger Victor Escalon engaged in their own junk science. 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. In 2020, a documentary was made regarding the case story of Melissa Lucio by Sabrina Van Tassel with the title The State of Texas vs. Melissa. Instead, just before 1 p.m., Bonowitzs phone rang. In fact, the court had twice ruled against Lucios appeals. The stairway outside the Lucios' apartment in Harlingen, Texas, where attorneys for Melissa Lucio say her daughter Mariah fell before she died. And so she has to confront that reality, too, that the execution could go forward.". She gave birth to the twins while in jail and was forced to give them up for adoption. 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Mariah reportedly did not have any visible injuries, but after Lucio put her down for a nap, she did not wake up and was later taken to the hospital, where she was declared dead. 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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. Even after none of her children accepted their mothers physical abuse from Lucio, the police and pathologists continued to claim that Mariahs death was not a result of the fall from the stairs. Human error to blame for deadly train crash, says Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much Lucio, 53, is a Mexican American woman who has struggled against poverty and abuse since childhood. Viewing all of the available evidence no rational juror would have found Ms. Lucio guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish, and grief. 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