A Texas woman has denied she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter. Her lawyers are hopeful new evidence will stop her execution.
In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat Mariah but Lucio has long denied that, saying her daughter died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. Her lawyers say Lucio's history of sexual and physical abuse led to her giving an unreliable confession.
As her April 27 execution date nears, Lucio’s lawyers are hopeful that new evidence, along with growing public support — including from jurors who now doubt the conviction and from more than half the Texas House of Representatives — will persuade the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence.
“Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal,” the office wrote in court documents last month.Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Only 17 women have been executed in the U.S. since the Supreme Court lifted its ban on the death penalty in 1976, most recently in January 2021.
In the 2020 documentary “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” Lucio said investigators kept pushing her to say she had hurt Mariah.Her lawyers say Lucio's sentence was disproportionate to what her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, received. 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.
In a letter last month to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Abbott, 83 Texas House members said executing Lucio would be “a miscarriage of justice.”
Malaysia Latest News, Malaysia Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman's executionHOUSTON (AP) — During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter Mariah, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators.
Read more »
Lawyers Hope New Evidence Can Stop Texas Woman’s ExecutionDuring hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter.
Read more »
Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman's executionAs Melissa Lucio's April 27 execution date nears, her lawyers are hopeful that new evidence, along with growing public support will persuade the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence.
Read more »
Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman's executionLawyers for a Texas woman who's denied she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter are hopeful new evidence will stop her execution.
Read more »
Lawyers Hope New Evidence Can Stop Execution of Texas Woman Convicted of Killing DaughterDuring hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter.
Read more »
Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman's executionLawyers for a Texas woman who's denied she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter are hopeful new evidence will stop her execution
Read more »