FIGHTING
Who is Melissa Lucio?
MELISSA Lucio made headlines after becoming the first woman of Hispanic descent in Texas to be sentenced to death.
She was set to be executed on April 27, 2022, but was granted a stay of execution two days prior by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
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Who is Melissa Lucio?
Born July 18, 1968, Lucio, 53, is known as a convicted killer.
In 2008, she was found guilty of murdering her 2-year-old daughter.
However, she has maintained her innocence ever since.
According to , Lucio is an abuse survivor and was sexually assaulted multiple times starting at the age of six, and was then physically and emotionally abused by two husbands.
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She is also the mother of 14 children, five from her first marriage and nine from her second, according to the .
Despite her conviction, the organization describes her as a "loving and caring mother," who tried her best to provide financially for her family.
What happened to her daughter?
In 2007, Lucio's daughter Mariah passed away after sustaining injuries during a fall down a flight of stairs.
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.
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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.
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.
Around 3am, she told detectives, “I guess I did it,” reportedly in hopes that they would end the interrogation, according to the Innocence Project.
After her conviction, some of her children were put up for adoption while others were split up and sent to live with relatives or placed in the custody of the state, the Innocence Project reports.
Mariah's father was also arrested in relation to her death but he was only convicted of endangering a child and sentenced to four years in prison.
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When is she scheduled for execution?
Lucio was scheduled to be executed on April 27, 2022, but the Texas Couty of Criminal Appeals halted her execution on April 25, the Monday before.
Her case was moved back to the Cameron County court, where she was initially tried.
Since her conviction, her case has gained public attention with a number of advocates and former jurors expressing their doubt about if she is guilty.
In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals even overturned her conviction, stating that she was deprived of "her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense," but in 2021, a full-court upheld the original conviction "despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucio's confession."
"Mariah's death was a tragedy not a murder. ... It would be an absolutely devastating message for this execution to go forward. It would send a message that innocence doesn't matter," Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucio's attorneys who is with the Innocence Project, told NPR.
Her lawyers have argued that the jury never heard forensic evidence that explained how Mariah's injuries could have been sustained from a fall.
They also claim they weren't allowed to hear evidence questioning the validity of Lucio's confession, according to NPR.
Johnny Galvan Jr., who was one of the jurors in the case, later wrote an opinion piece in where he revealed that he faced "peer pressure" and changed his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty, otherwise they would have "be there all day."
"But there were so many other details that went unmentioned. It wasn’t until after the trial was over that troubling information was brought to light," Galvan wrote at the time.
"If I had known all of this information, or even part of it, I would have stood by my vote for life no matter what anyone else on the jury said."
On April 5, 2022, Kim Kardashian, who is a known advocate for abolishing the death penalty, even took to Twitter to protest her conviction.
"I recently just read about the case of Melissa Lucio and wanted to share her story with you. She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughter’s death that was a tragic accident," .
"Melissa is a survivor of abuse and domestic violence herself and after being interrogated for hours and falsely pleaded guilty. She wanted the interrogation to end, but police made her words out to be a confession.
"...Please sign the petition to urge Governor @GregAbbott_TX to stop her execution," she continued. "It’s stories like Melissa’s that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering."
Despite the outcry of support, the Texas Attorney General's Office continues to argue that the case was fair and that Mariah suffered the "absolute worst" case of child abuse her doctor had seen in 30 years.
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"Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal," the office wrote in court documents last month, via NPR.
At this time, it remains unclear if Lucio's execution will be overturned.
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If you or someone you know is affected by any of the issues raised in this story, call RAINN (Rape, Abuse, & Incest National Network) at 800-656-HOPE (4673).
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