On April 15, Ms. Lucios attorneys filed a habeas petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeking a stay of her execution and arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and the State relied on false evidence,and hid favorable evidence, to convict her. Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP. After several hours of interrogation, Ms. Lucio said, I guess I did it, and made other incriminating statements, to get the officers to end the interrogation. He then told Lucio that he would "help" her if she told him what he already knew. She was sexually abused by family members beginning at the age of 6. Melissa Lucio Mariahs mother was found guilty of capital murder. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. var isYTTikTok = 1; MELISSA ELIZABETH LUCIO, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON DIRECT APPEAL CAUSE NUMBER 07-CR-885-B IN THE 138TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CAMERON COUNTY Hervey, J., delivered the opinion of the Court in which Meyers, Johnson, Keasler, Cochran, and alcala, JJ., joined. "She was a good mother. "You're not making this firm division between a victim and suspect because a lot of times you don't know at the beginning who's a victim and who's a suspect.". The officers relied on their presumptions about how a mother should act in this tragic scenario and their gut-feeling, without a thorough forensic examination of the evidence to draw an unscientific presumption of guilt, which then created tunnel vision of investigators and the interrogating officers. window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { The local hospital said the child had passed away. After Mariah was born authorities found out that Lucio had taken cocaine. As noted in the appeals court opinion document, one of the investigators described Lucio's behavior. I am now convinced that the jury got it wrong and I know that there is too much doubt to execute Lucio. After the trial, in which the prosecution said that her daughter's injuries could have only been caused by abuse, Lucio was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death. She is scheduled to be executed by. What we know today which we didnt know 15 years ago is that survivors of significant trauma and domestic abuse, like Ms. Lucio, are particularly vulnerable to the coercive police interrogation that Ms. Lucio endured for over five hours. We're asking the governor and Board of Pardons and Paroles and the district attorney, which are the three [political] entities that can do something about this, to watch the filmbecause we believe anybody that watches this film will come away at least with doubt if not being convinced of Melissa's innocence," Bonowitz said. Two of the officers who interrogated Ms. Lucio were present at Mariahs autopsy, leading to a biased autopsy process, and an incomplete investigation into Mariahs health history and causes of her injuries and death. The jury was deprived of key evidence to weigh: that is the point.. If I could take back my vote, I would, Johnny Galvan Jr., one of the jurors in Ms. Lucios case, wrote in, An innocent person is misclassified as a guilty suspect, Police coerce an innocent person into falsely incriminating themselves. "Mariah's death was a tragedy not a murder. Melissa Lucio holds her daughter Mariah. "I think that's really significant that, you know, the individuals who heard the evidence against Melissa feel that the new evidence is so powerful that they may have voted differently in the case, and it just underscores the need for a court to consider the new evidence of Melissa's innocence," Potkin said. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. Eighty-three Texas representatives signed a letter asking that she be granted clemency. Lucio has said that her daughter who had a condition that caused her foot to be turned in fell down a flight of outdoor stairs as the family was preparing to move to a new apartment. In a 2010 affidavit, one of Lucios sisters claimed to remember a different conversation in which Alexandra admitted to punching Mariah out of resentment for having to care for her while Lucio and her husband did drugs. She claims bruises found on Mariahs body were consistent with rings her mother would wear. The husband of Melissa Lucio, Roberto Antonio Alvarez, is known to have testified in the case involving the death of his daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Alexander Molony Children: Does Alexander Molony Have A Child? In a now-deleted tweet, Kardashian described the crime as a tragic accident. However, some of Lucios children have spoken out, insisting that their mother is guilty. Greg Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles in March of this year, arguing an unreliable confession and "unscientific, false evidence that misled the jury into believing that Mariah Alvarez must have been killed by physical abuse, when the evidence is actually consistent with a conclusion that Mariah died from medical complications after a fall" based on the declarations of various experts. The project's petition, asking Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution, has received over 44,000 signatures. Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is set to be executed on April 27. On April 15, Ms. Lucios. Alexander Molony Net Worth: How Much Is Alexander Molony Worth? After nearly 15 years on death row in Texas, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled . Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death, July 10, 2008, in Brownsville, Texas. Lucio was found guilty of abusing and killing her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. Alexander Molony Girlfriend: Who Is Alexander Molony Girlfriend? So right there and then, I knew she did something," he said. He spoke in emotional support of his mother at a press conference on Friday held by civic engagement nonprofit Somos Tejas, Texas state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado and other Texas state legislators saying that his family "hasn't been the same" since her incarceration. Shortly after Mariah was born, Lucio tested positive for cocaine use; as a result, authorities decided to place her children in foster care. The International Association of Chiefs of Police, a Virginia-based association for police leaders, has a guide on the best practices law enforcement should follow for successful trauma-informed interviewing. Email: [emailprotected] In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" var tiktokscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. He can grant clemency if a majority of the paroles board recommends it. She has maintained her innocence, and Cornell Law School professor Sandra Babcock has called the prosecution "by far the weakest capital case I've ever seen". The tragic incident that took away a young life happened in her own house. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. Abraham Bonowitz, co-founder and director of anti-death penalty advocacy group Death Penalty Action, said he believes that filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel's Hulu documentary, "The State of Texas vs. Melissa," which follows Lucio as she appeals her case, speaks to her innocence. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Ms. Lucio received a death penalty sentence and is appealing. "People generally confess falsely to get out of the interrogation room," Guarnera said. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Prosecutors said that Mariah's injuries were the result of physical abuse, while Lucio's attorneys say that her death was caused by a fall down the stairs two days prior. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. "When I walked in, she was not making eye contact with the investigator. [1][19], In August 2021, an amicus brief was filed on Lucio's behalf by a group consisting of legal scholars, experts on violence against women, and representatives from sixteen organizations that combat violence against women. Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. She was convicted of capital murder after the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who was found to have scattered bruising in various stages of healing, as well as injuries to her head and contusions of the kidneys, lungs and spinal cord. The hourslong interrogation ended with Lucio being coerced into confessing, her legal team has said, arguing that her past experiences with physical abuse and sexual assault made her susceptible to taking responsibility for her daughter's death even though, they said, she was innocent. In particular, the jury never learned about the extent of Ms. Lucios history of child sexual abuse and domestic violence and how it shaped her reactions immediately following her daughters death. Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture. This was an extremely common type of injury among toddlers that can result from a fall from standing height. [9][23] The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, announced on April 22 that he sent a letter to Governor Abbott asking him to grant executive clemency to Lucio, as "Mexico has historically manifested an unwavering commitment in its opposition to the death penalty. At 6 years old, she was sexually assaulted by one of her mother's partners, her legal team said in the clemency petition. If I could take back my vote, I would, Johnny Galvan Jr., one of the jurors in Ms. Lucios case, wrote in a recent op-ed in the Houston Chronicle. Child Protective Services had previously investigated Lucio for allegations of child neglect, and they reported that Lucio's youngest children were often left in the care of their teenaged siblings. Trauma victims who dissociate may not fully grasp the severity of the situation they are in so "they're not going to be able to track and pay attention as carefully and this can make you potentially prone to accepting suggestions from officers," Guarnera said. Lucio's supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if she's executed. [22], In April 2022, a juror on the trial, Johnny Galvan Jr., wrote in the Houston Chronicle that he had wrongly succumbed to peer pressure during deliberations and had changed his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty. Hours after Mariah's death, Lucio was interrogated by police for over five hours, according to her lawyers. Afterward, Lucio had seven kids with Robert Alvarez. On February 17 2007 paramedics came to the Lucio home because two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and didnt respond. Lucio claimed Mariah had fallen down a flight of stairs two days prior and suffered the wounds. Here are 5 things to . Her lawyers say Lucio's sentence was disproportionate to what her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, received. They also argued that a judge's order to exclude expert testimony on the effects of trauma had "deprived Melissa of the only means she had of explaining that, notwithstanding her demeanor and self-incriminating statements, she was innocent of her daughter's murder. An Innocence Project petition calling for a stop to Lucio's execution has surpassed its goal, having received over 185,000 signatures. ", The investigator went on to say that he knew Lucio wanted to confess "because she's giving that slouched appearance.". Only a barbaric people allow such depravity. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez welcomed Mariah into the world in September 2004. It played at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020, and won best documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. RELATED: Oklahoma Gov. Nearly 15 years later, Lucio, 53, remains on death row at Mountain View Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas. While she was incarcerated, she gave birth to twins, making four total. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. She had numerous bruises, bite marks on her back, pulled-out hair patches, and a broken arm. Eighty-three Texas legislators from both sides of the aisle have signed a letter urging the governor and Texas Board of Pardon and Paroles to grant Ms. Lucio clemency. Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith. Her supporters say she was . Isla Bryson Parents: Who Are The Parents Of Isla Bryson? [7] The child was pronounced dead at a local hospital. . said, adding that an emergency room doctor said it was the "absolute worst" case of child abuse. If we had heard passionately from the defense defending her in some way, we might have reached a different decision," juror Johnny Galvan wrote in an affidavit. According to documents filed in the Texas Criminal Court Of Appeals in 2011, the children were found in unsafe conditions with scratches and insect bites. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and had her first five children with Guadalupe Lucio. However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons, "despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucio's confession.". Performance & security by Cloudflare. He got a four-year sentence for causing injury to a child by omission even though he also was responsible for Mariah's care, Lucio's lawyers argue. Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. "There are already police departments around the world who have this more investigatory, fact-finding model," Guarnera said. Alexander Molony Parents: Who Are Alexander Molony Parents? FilmRise By Maurice Chammah The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. The Innocence Project notes that Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time and was likely overwhelmed and grief-stricken after Mariahs death. 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