New FDA-approved drug can slow vision loss, Lawsuits claim dental device wrecked teeth, Pandemic-era SNAP benefits end for millions of Americans as costs rise. AMY GOODMAN: Melissa Lucio is a mother of 14 children. She gave birth to the twins while in jail and was forced to give them up for adoption. In this undated photograph, Melissa Lucio holds one of her sons, John. Her family maintains her innocence and has pushed hard to get her off death row. According to court documents submitted by Lucio's attorneys, she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend starting at the age of 6 abuse that lasted for two years. Lucio and her attorneys have not had success in reversing the initial verdict. Among the experts her attorneys sought to put on the stand was a psychologist who planned to testify that Lucio's history as a survivor of domestic and sexual abuse helped explain why she told interrogators what they wanted to hear even if it wasn't true. If the execution goes ahead, she would be the first Latina to be executed in the state of Texas. Discovery Company. 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) I know she's innocent.' 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. She could see herself in Lucios story. Her attorneys are seeking either a lesser charge, to remove Lucio from death row or a . ", 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. 'That's my mother. Child Protection Services records show Lucio was neglectful, but not violent against any of her children. One of her other daughters, Adriana, stands at left. Melissa Lucio was born on 18th July 1968 in Lubbock, Texas. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Five of the trial's 12 jurors have called for her clemency. Watch Live: Closing arguments begin in double murder trial of Alex Murdaugh, Intel review says "very unlikely" foreign adversary behind "Havana Syndrome", Ex-Georgia star Jalen Carter was racing in deadly crash, arrest warrants allege, Watch Live: Garland testifies amid ongoing special counsel investigations, Fiery train crash in Greece kills dozens, many of them students. Theyd also filed a petition with the Court of Criminal Appeals, arguing that new evidence undermined Lucios conviction. Opinion is divided on her guilt, though - many of her living children have backed up her claim of innocence, and five of the jurors who convicted her have since expressed misgivings over the verdict. Toon had been the inmate librarian at the Mountain View prison unit where Texass female death row prisoners are housed, and shed gotten to know Lucio over the years. The film screened at the 2020 Tribeca Film Festival and later won Best Documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. (AP) This is a beating. Medical experts who reviewed Lucios case now say that Mariahs injuries were entirely consistent with a fall down the stairs, and that Farley failed to rule out that possibility before jumping to her inflammatory conclusion. 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.. 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. It's a disorder, she says, that in other cases has been "confused for child abuse because it causes extensive bleeding and bruising throughout the body. "They refused to listen to her, sending the clear message that this interrogation wasn't going to stop until she told the officers what they wanted to hear.". Director of The State of Texas vs. Melissa, Sabrina Van Tassel argues for Melissa Lucio's retrial. She was set to be executed on April 27, 2022, butwas granted a stay of execution two days priorby the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. by Jolie McCullough March 24, 2022 3 PM Central. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit reviewed Lucio's case and overturned it, finding that she had been denied the opportunity to present a full defense at her trial and that a new trial was warranted. The fourth claim argues the state suppressed evidence favorable to her defense, violating her rights to due process. Consider what the world of media would look like without The Intercept. She was sexually abused at the age of 6 by one of her family members (her mothers boyfriend). Around 3am, she told detectives, I guess I did it, reportedly in hopes that they would end the interrogation, according to the Innocence Project. But the trial judge ruled that testimony "irrelevant," according to court documents. Child Protective Services was present in the family's life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. As fast as my heart was pacing, thats how fast I was driving, John later told reporters at a press conference. She said that she was all the time sexually abused by her first husband who later left her along with five children and parted away. 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. (Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach via AP), halted her execution and sent her case back for, But she, her family and attorneys say she is innocent and was wrongfully convicted. An autopsy later showed that the toddler had bruising to her kidney and lungs, according to local media. On the other hand, Lucio said that she was pressured to have false statements regarding the allegations. The state of Texas had planned to execute an anonymous woman, she said. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish, and grief. The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles Clemency Office declined to comment, and Abbott didn't return a request for comment. The state of Texas has scheduled the execution of the case of Melissa Lucio for the 27th of April. Her legal team, including attorneys from the federal public defender office in Austin and the Innocence Project, had filed a clemency petition with the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, asking them to recommend that Gov. In 2008, Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of her 2-year old daughter Mariah, who died two days after a tragic fall down a flight of stairs. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and she produced five children with her husband, who used to abuse Lucio all the time while being in the relationship. Greg Abbott to spare their mom's life. Moments after learning about her daughter's death, Melissa was questioned by the police for over five hours, without food, beverage or sleep. Lucios father died when Lucio was an infant, and her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley when Lucio was almost 3 to 4 years old. Melissa Lucio holds her daughter Mariah in this undated photograph. On April 25, 2022, the Texas court granted a stay of execution and directed the Cameron County 138th Circuit Court to review Lucios case with new evidence of her innocence regarding the death of her daughter Mariah. She hadnt. Melissa Lucio is a cochina asquerosa who, over many years, created the horrifically abusive conditions and allowed her innocent baby to die. Melissa later told police that when she realised that Mariah was no longer inside the unit, she left to look for her and found her crying by the staircase, with a bit of blood on her lower teeth. Two days later, her father called police when Mariah suddenly stopped breathing. Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach via AP The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. But many doubt Lucio's guilt and call into question the fairness of her trial. Published "You know, it's my mom. Attorneys for Lucio have long argued that Saenz has a conflict of interest due to the fact that Lucios defense attorney at trial, Peter Gilman, now works for him. She tried to explain to no avail that Mariah had fallen down the stairs a few days earlier; the possibility that the childs death was not murder but the result of a tragic accident was never investigated. The state of Texas has issued a death warrant seeking to execute Melissa Lucio (pictured), a battered woman who was sentenced to death for what may have been an accidental fall that killed her two-year-old daughter.She is scheduled to be executed April 27, 2022. . 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. In 2007, Lucio's daughter Mariah passed away after sustaining injuries during a fall down a flight of stairs. During an emotional press conference he stated, "I don't want my mom to be executed. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. After five hours of questioning, during which Lucio expressed her innocence more than 100 times, she eventually said "I guess I did it" when asked if she was responsible for some of her daughter's injuries. Those documents, her lawyers argue, support Lucios claim that Mariahs health had deteriorated after falling down the stairs. Now, her family, more than 80 state lawmakers from both parties, and even some of the jurors who convicted her say she should live. But the attention the case has garnered helped spotlight the earlier errors in the trial and win a halt to what would be the first execution of a Hispanic woman carried out in Texas in modern times. She married at age 16. 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. Please give us a chance for peace. After her conviction for Mariah's murder, Melissa's children were taken from her care. Courtesy of the Lucio family. Yes, the ruling by the appeals court does nothing to modify Lucios sentence. Ms. Lucio's passive and apparently flat demeanor is best explained by her history of repeated sexual, physical, and emotional abuse since childhood.". "It was an accident," he said. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. Please give us a chance for peace. By the time she gave birth to her twelfth child, Melissa had experienced homelessness, drug addiction, and severe mental illness," according to an amicus brief filed by former prosecutors, anti-violence organizations and others on Lucio's behalf. Lucio was kind and gentle; Toon couldnt imagine that she was capable of killing anyone, let alone her own daughter. According to the innocence project, Melissa, the mother of 14 children, was a loving and caring mother despite facing physical assault and abuse from her partner and ex-husband. We dont have ads, so we depend on our members 35,000 and counting to help us hold the powerful to account. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Lucio had been deprived of "her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense," and overturned her conviction. She saw Mariah at the bottom with a bleeding lip, but she otherwise didn't appear to be seriously injured. Melissa Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. . Error compounded error, the lawyers wrote in their petition to the Court of Criminal Appeals. Melissa's execution date is set for April 27, 2022. But jurors didn't hear testimony from any of Lucio's kids. She received abuse throughout her childhood and teenage years. That includes the medical examiner who Lucios application says conducted Mariahs autopsy, ignored indications that Mariahs fatal condition had another cause, and testified the injuries could only have been caused by abuse without exploring the fall down the stairs two days before. Child Protective Services was present in the family's life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, lawyer Vanessa Potkin said. This service is provided on News Group Newspapers' Limited's Standard Terms and Conditions in accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy. Although Melissa repeatedly told the police that she did not kill her daughter, they continued to interrogate her for five hours until she . In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for racketeering and extortion. Alexandra is also another of Melissa Lucio's elder daughters. The ruling, however, does delay Lucios execution indefinitely, Potkin said, while Lucio gets her first opportunity to present new evidence of her innocence claim in court. According to court documents submitted by Lucio's attorneys, she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend starting at the age of 6 abuse that lasted for two years . Neither woman had been eating very much. 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. ", Another of Lucio's children, Bobby Alvarez, carries the words of his mom tattooed on his chest: "I'll always be with you, and here I'll always stay." The state of Texas has scheduled the execution in the Melissa Lucio case for April 27. 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 appeals court order sends Lucios case back to her trial court in the 138th Judicial District in Cameron County, along the border with Mexico at Texass southernmost tip. In fact, the court had twice ruled against Lucios appeals. Read about our approach to external linking. Please give us the chance for closure. Villalobos could not be reached for comment. ", Speaking to CBS Mornings he said: 'If they go through with it, they'll be killing an innocent woman.. The two women friends and formerly incarcerated activists had joined a broad coalition of supporters pressing every lever they could think of to try to stop the execution, scheduled for April 27. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. 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. So, I really try not to think about the future, because right now I have what I want. Melissa Lucio is an American woman who belongs to Hispanic descent and has been sentenced to death in Texas. It came as it was revealed that Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. He told "CBS Mornings" correspondent Lilia Luciano that he decided to get the tattoo, "because, you know, it's close to my heart. Although interviews with Lucio's children, her mother, and her sisters give the clear sense that Melissa's family wants her home, it never really feels like the family members get comfortable . Everybodyknows who she is., Liliana Segura[emailprotected]theintercept.com@lilianasegura, Jordan Smith[emailprotected]theintercept.com@chronic_jordan. SAN ANTONIO - The governor of Texas is under pressure to stop the planned execution of a mother convicted of killing her child. April 28, 2022 5:23 PM EDT. 2:03 PM EDT, Tue April 26, 2022, Texas court grants stay of execution for death row inmate. However, she has maintained her innocence ever since. Leach and a handful of colleagues traveled to visit Lucio in prison. Lucio had already spent five hours that night, in February 2007, answering questions about the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. . The impact has been felt longest by Melissa's family. According to an interrogation with Lucio regarding the death of her youngest child of that time, Mariah fell down the stairs while the family was moving homes back in February 2007. The wounds never fully healed. And if he didnt have none 15 years ago, you dont have any today.. 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. "No.". 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. She also has the support of an unprecedented bipartisan coalition of 87 Texas lawmakers. The state says Lucio beat her daughter to death. They hope to persuade the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. "She is an innocent woman," John Lucio, Melissa's eldest son, told Latino USA at a protest outside the Cameron County Courthouse in February. The daughter, who was a toddler at that time, had to go through a physical disability and was unstable while walking. Are you serious! Without any legal representation, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by Cameron County TX police for 7 hours. In an interview with the Texas Observer, Tivon Schardl, a lawyer on Lucio's appellate defense team, called her case "as clear a . The research says that Mariah was physically abused and people like Ms. Lucio often agree to the conditions which they never convicted while being under huge pressure from the majority of people. How many covert wars, miscarriages of justice, and dystopian technologies would remain hidden if our reporters werent on the beat? Melissa Lucio, 53, is scheduled to be executed on April 27. Although the official documents say that Lucio was born in 1968, her relatives and closest members say that she was born in 1969. 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. According to the reports, she has gone through a continuous and repetitive highly abnormal level of vulnerability. Following her conviction, she was sentenced to a death sentence by lethal injection in the year July of the . Were confident that with the new evidence of innocence, if Melissa was retried today that she would be acquitted, Innocence Project attorney Vanessa Potkin told reporters on Monday afternoon. Moments later, he interrupted the interview. 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. According to Melissa's statements to the police, the little girl was left without adult supervision while her parents were busy. 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. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas after she confessed to beating her 2-year-old daughter, who later died. Prosecutors at trial argued Lucio, now 53, was an abusive mother who caused the injuries that led to her daughter Mariahs death. 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. Texas woman on death row receives bipartisan support for clemency from state officials. Last October, the Supreme Court declined to hear the case. The appeals court remanded, or sent back, several claims Lucio raised in an application for a writ of habeas corpus which demands a public official show a valid reason for a persons detention and ordered the trial court to conduct a merits review.. Lucio sobbed Monday upon hearing the news she would not be put to death Wednesday, according to an audio recording obtained by CNN. 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. Mariahs lifeless body arrived at a hospital in Harlingen, Texas, covered in bruises, which authorities immediately assumed were evidence of abuse. Read about our approach to external linking. . The latest bid to spare Melissa Lucio's life comes 14 years after she was sentenced to death in a capital murder case involving the youngest of her dozen children at the time. Melissa Lucio, a Mexican-American who is facing execution in Texas on April 27, 2022, was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death after her daughter, Mariah, sustained injuries from an accidental fall. But it seems the relentless pressure from activists and lawmakers, combined with the mounting evidence of Lucios innocence, was too much to simply ignore. Her cause was taken up by everyone from her living children - her eldest son the most vocal among them - to Kim Kardashian, the celebrity turned would-be lawyer. Abbott's office did not respond to a request for comment, but in March the governor said he was awaiting a decision by the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Her attorneys are calling for a stay of her execution so her case may be reviewed. ", The stairway outside the Lucios' apartment in Harlingen, Texas, where attorneys for Melissa Lucio say her daughter Mariah fell before she died. "It's very common to be mistaken for abuse if you don't look for the signs.". According to Lucio, she was once sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend. Mariah's body was riddled with bruises and the medical examiner automatically declared Mariah's death by homicide via child abuse. The state called it an admission of guilt for Mariah's death. The former Cameron County district attorney recently spent several years in federal prison for bribery and extortion. The courts order sends the case back to Cameron County, where the trial court will be tasked with considering evidence on four claims that cut to the heart of the states case against Lucio. Instead, police subjected Lucio to a punishing late-night interrogation lasting more than five hours. Lucio has always maintained her innocence. Two days later, she could not be woken from a nap and was pronounced dead at the hospital. We cant say exactly how long, but we certainly dont want her to spend one day longer in prison than is absolutely necessary.. 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. Son Bobby Alvarez, who was seven when his little sister died, described how he cried every night wanting my momma back after she was taken away. The court has produced allegations of capital murder against her after the death of her two-year-old daughter named Mariah. According to the state, Lucio, then a mother of 12 who struggled with drug addiction, had beaten her toddler to death in February 2007. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ). Or sleeping well. The second claim says new scientific evidence would prevent Lucios conviction. On 27 April, Melissa Lucio was supposed to die. If the execution is not postponed or stopped, she will receive a lethal injection on April 27, despite the mounting doubts over her guilt. She was sexually abused by one of her family members (her mothers boyfriend) at the age of 6. 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. They wrote: "[A] history of trauma significantly reduces the resilience of the trauma victims to cope with interrogative pressure. Her young daughter Mariah died and had many injuries like bruises on her head kidneys lungs spinal cord and other places. . At the time of Mariah's death in 2007, Ms. Lucio lived with Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, and nine children; the family had just moved into a new apartment. She is the mother of 14 children, including Mariah. Melissa Lucio has given birth to 14 children. Melissa Lucio and her children. She says she was wrongfully convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter Mariah after a tragic accident in 2007. There were also allegations of corruption on the part of the prosecution, which did not figure into the case. 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. Lucio was convicted for the death of her daughter Mariah Alvarez. FilmRise. It was like, "Ugh, let her rot in Hell." Lucio was married at the age of 16 and gave birth to five children with her husband, who constantly abused Lucio throughout their relationship. Who Are Melissa Lucio Kids? On 27 April, Melissa Lucio was supposed to die. The documentary focuses on the case of Melissa Lucio, a woman convicted for the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter Mariah. 2. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. A pathologist interviewed by The Intercept says the medical examiner who conducted Mariah's autopsy jumped to conclusions and ignored evidence that Mariah died due to an accident. Who would hold party elites accountable to the values they proclaim to have? The state did not test DNA or allow the defence's forensic pathologist to speak at the trial. Lucio learned of the stay from Texas state Rep. Jeff Leach, who along with a bipartisan majority of the state legislature has championed her case, calling for clemency or a new trial. At the time of Lucio's trial, Villalobos was running for reelection against a challenger who criticized him for not thoroughly investigating or prosecuting charges of child abuse. 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. Her lawyers argue that credible science demonstrates that Mariahs death was caused by an accident and that Lucio was sentenced to death for a crime that never happened. Armando Villalobos, the district attorney who brought the charges, is now in jail for bribery unrelated to the Lucio case, but that took place when she was tried. he asked. It was sending her case back to district court to consider several pressing claims, including that Lucio was innocent in the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. Texas is scheduled to execute Melissa Lucio next month. Lawsuits claim it wrecked their teeth. Lucio's children previously wrote a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, pleadingGov. Luciano asked Bobby Alvarez, "What would it mean to you to have your mom back with you? The woman, Melissa Lucio, a mother of 14, was found guilty back in 2008 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. Prosecutors said she confessed after this police interrogation, and on the testimony of one of the agents who said he was "convinced" she was guilty, and on the injuries that Mariah's body had shown at the time of her death. But although Lucio had a history of being investigated by Child Protective Services, she had no history of physically abusing her kids. Greg Abbott to spare their mom's life. Melissa Lucios private life remained a mystery for many years until her daughter died and she was sentenced to prison. In 2007, Lucio's daughter Mariah passed away after sustaining injuries during a fall down a flight of stairs. But when the medical examiner saw the toddler's body covered in bruises, it was ruled child abuse, and investigators zeroed in on Lucio. 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.". Police subjected Lucio to a death sentence by lethal injection in the year July of the, let her! On 27 April, Melissa & # x27 ; s murder, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by County! Accordance with our Privacy & Cookie Policy remain hidden if our reporters werent on the hand! Of the state of Texas is under pressure to stop the planned execution of the prosecution, which authorities assumed. Photograph, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by Cameron County TX police for 7 hours in,! 2:03 PM EDT, Tue April 26, 2022 3 PM Central those documents, her relatives and members..., would be the first Latina to be mistaken for abuse if you do n't want my.. Execution date is set for April 27 execution on 27 April, Melissa & # x27 ; s and... 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