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. Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman Melissa Lucio's execution. We certainly want Melissa to get her hearing as quickly as possible, Schardl said. 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. 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.". When the news broke, the small crowd gathered outside the governors public reception room at the Texas Capitol erupted with cheers: The states Court of Criminal Appeals had stayed Melissa Lucios impending execution. 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. The father to Lucio's eldest children lived in Houston, Texas and did . The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Clemency Office declined to comment, and Abbott didn't return a request for comment. Her attorneys are seeking either a lesser charge, to remove Lucio from death row or a . 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. "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. Following her conviction, she was sentenced to a death sentence by lethal injection in the year July of the . Before all this, "we were a large family and we were very united", her eldest son, John, told BBC. 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. 679215 Registered office: 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF. Among those calling for a stay of execution are a bipartisan group of 103 members of the Texas legislature - including 32 Republican . Lucio's attorneys say police had already decided on a narrative when they brought her in for interrogation. We cant say exactly how long, but we certainly dont want her to spend one day longer in prison than is absolutely necessary.. Lucio's supporters say many of the issues in her trial trace back to the head prosecutor in the case, Armando Villalobos. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Over the years, it has routinely allowed executions to go forward even in cases where there were serious questions about a defendants guilt. Everybodyknows who she is., Liliana Segura[emailprotected]theintercept.com@lilianasegura, Jordan Smith[emailprotected]theintercept.com@chronic_jordan. Lucio, 53, is a Mexican American woman who has struggled against poverty and abuse since childhood. 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. By signing up, I agree to receive emails from The Intercept and to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use. Melissa Lucio was repeatedly raped as a child, became a child bride at 16 and had 14 children to two abusive partners (The State of Texas vs. Melissa/ Hulu/ Sabrina Van Tassel) DeSantis won't say he's running. "There is significant evidence of her innocence that no court, no fact finder has ever considered," Potkin says. 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. And so she has to confront that reality, too, that the execution could go forward.". 2. 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. In an undated photo, Melissa Lucio is pictured with one of her young children. Lucio, a . 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. ", Speaking to CBS Mornings he said: 'If they go through with it, they'll be killing an innocent woman.. 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. Tivon Schardl, supervisory assistant federal public defender in the Capital Habeas Unit in Austin, and part of Lucio's current defense team, said the jurors were not given the full picture: "There's been just a concerted effort to keep this evidence from being considered.". "The death of our sister Mariah and the prosecution of our parents tore our family apart. To see all content on The Sun, please use the Site Map. CNN has reached out to prosecutors for comment. Her lawyers said thatthestatement was wrongly interpretedby prosecutors as a murder confession, tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariahs death. Fourteen years after she was sent to Texas' death row, Melissa's Lucio will finally get the chance to have new evidence of her innocence claims . Photo: Christian K. Lee/Chronicle. Please enter valid email address to continue. In 2020, a documentary about the case history of Melissa Lucio was directed by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa. But that's not why the American citizen of Mexican origin has made the headlines. 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. As The Intercept has previously reported, Farley was unequivocal in testifying that she knew right away that Mariahhad been murdered. Although the official documents state that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. The state did not test DNA or allow the defence's forensic pathologist to speak at the trial. She was sexually abused by one of her family members (her mother's boyfriend) at the age of 6. Melissa Lucio is an American woman who belongs to Hispanic descent and has been sentenced to death in Texas. His younger siblings were taken in by cousins, and many did well after leaving school. Attorneys for Melissa Lucio filed for clemency on Tuesday, just a month before her execution date on April 27. 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 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.. As the process unfolds, she will remain on death row, her legal team said. ", Bobby was seven when Mariah died. 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. January 25, 2022, 9:34 AM, CST. 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 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. Read about our approach to external linking. In 2008, she was found guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. Many people believe Lucio's case is a clear case of injustice, while others believe she deserved the punishments. Those documents, her lawyers argue, support Lucios claim that Mariahs health had deteriorated after falling down the stairs. Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach via AP But lawyers and others of Melissa's supporters say she was made to make statements under duress. The biased investigation supported a prosecution led by a criminally corrupt prosecutor centered on an unreliable, contaminated confession and false scientific evidence that misled and inflamed the jury. Leach and a handful of colleagues traveled to visit Lucio in prison. Texas is scheduled to execute Melissa Lucio next month. She received abuse throughout her childhood and teenage years. False confessions are more common than you might think. And she did, saying she spanked the child, but never admitting to the use of deadly force. "She is not guilty of the death of my baby sister.". Its unclear how long the process could take. Mariah is in my heart today and always. Greg Abbott to spare their mom's life. He and Moody also convened a committee hearing to question Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, who had requested Lucios execution date. The medical examiner concluded Mariah died from a blow to her head. On 27 April, Melissa Lucio was supposed to die. More on The Lone Star Plate www.lonestarplate.showSabrina . The Texas courts have spared Melissa Lucio's life. Please give us the chance for closure. 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. That's what Lucio told first responders and the police. Hawara: 'What happened was horrific and barbaric'. Some of that evidence, says Potkin, was not disclosed to the defense as they were preparing for trial. "The death of our sister Mariah and the prosecution of our parents tore our family apart. Or sleeping well. The film screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and later won Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. 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. Speaking at the press conference, Keith responded to Saenzs statement. She gave birth to the twins while in jail and was forced to give them up for adoption. In issuing a stay of execution on Monday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals said Melissa's case deserved further scrutiny given mistakes made during the original prosecution, as well as new information that has emerged over the past decade and a half while she has been in jail. Two days later, Mariah went to take a nap and did not wake up. At this time, it remains unclear if Lucio's execution will be overturned. The state says Lucio beat her daughter to death. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. April 11, 2022 / 11:29 AM 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. "Ever since this accident took place, there has been a great division amongst us. Lucio's supporters say many of the issues in her trial trace back to the head prosecutor in the case, Armando Villalobos. Melissa Lucio is the mother of 14 children, five from her first marriage and nine from her second, according to theInnocence Project. 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. In an undated photo, Melissa Lucio is pictured with one of her young children. Melissa deserves to remain and die in prison. "It was an accident," he said. Lucio was previously sentenced to death in 2008 and was pregnant with twins at the time of her incarceration, which she had to put up for adoption as she was unable to support the babies feeding in prison. After her conviction for Mariah's murder, Melissa's children were taken from her care. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. However, even if Lucio's death penalty is commuted, she still isn't going home anytime soon. Melissa Lucio is a convicted criminal who had killed her own 2-year-old daughter as per a report by Murderpedia. One of her other daughters, Adriana, stands at left. Lucio has always maintained her innocence. Prosecutors at her . On Monday, the CCA ordered Garcia to either recuse herself or have another judge rule on her disqualification within three days, Schardl explained. It came as it was revealed that Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. For 14 years, Lucio had been on death row for the 2007 death of her then-two year old daughter, Mariah. As per the data, Melissa Lucio is only 5 feet 2 inches tall. She could see herself in Lucios story. Your effort and contribution in providing this feedback is much A Warner Bros. 'That's my mother. This couldve been me, she said. Melissa Lucio is the mother of 14 children, five from her first marriage and nine from her second, according to theInnocence Project. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. Without any legal representation, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by Cameron County TX police for 7 hours. Now, her family, more than 80 state lawmakers from both parties, and even some of the jurors who convicted her say she should live. Lucio and her attorneys have not had success in reversing the initial verdict. She is the mother of 14 children, including Mariah. For other inquiries, Contact Us. 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. It was potentially one of the last times he would see her alive. Before her execution was stayed amid the emergence of new evidence, BBC spoke to her family and supporters. Melissa Lucio Early Life. To prevent Lucio from being executed, Texas Gov. If the execution is not postponed or stopped, she will receive a lethal injection on April 27, despite the mounting doubts over her guilt. 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.". In 2007, Lucio's daughter Mariah passed away after sustaining injuries during a fall down a flight of stairs. At the age of 16, she turned into a child bride but again had to face abusive marriage. Her attorneys are calling for a stay of her execution so her case may be reviewed. The case hinges on an interrogation of Lucio conducted two hours after Mariah died, during which officers tried to get Lucio to confess to hurting her daughter. Melissa Lucio was born on 18th July 1968 in Lubbock, Texas. The conservative Republican from North Texas became an unlikely ally of the condemned mother from the Rio Grande Valley. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Clemency Office declined to comment, and Abbott didn't return a request for comment. After repeatedly denying that she killed her daughter, Lucio finally conceded that she was responsible. The state of Texas has scheduled the execution in the Melissa Lucio case for April 27. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for racketeering and extortion. Not why the American citizen of Mexican origin has made the headlines ;... 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