Melissa Lucio execution: White House won’t be drawn in on case as international pressure grows
Latest developments in Melissa Lucio case
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There are growing calls on Texas Governor Greg Abbot to grant clemency to Melissa Lucio who faces execution later this month. European nations, a juror, Kim Kardashian, and a bipartisan group of lawmakers are among those pleading for Lucio’s life.
The 53-year-old domestic violence victim and mother of 14 has been on death row since her trial over the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter.
Her lawyers argue she “falsely” admitted to killing Mariah after hours of intense police questioning and that she died from falling down a steep staircase outside their apartment in Harlingen, South Texas, and not from being beaten.
Worn down by her grief and abuse throughout her life, Lucio admitted to a crime she didn’t commit during the aggressive interrogation, her lawyers say.
On 18 October, the US Supreme Court denied a petition to hear Lucio’s case, paving the way for the state of Texas to set the date for her execution — to be carried out by lethal injection on 27 April.
Writing for The Independent, an expert in false confessions says Texas is executing an innocent woman in one of the most tragic cases they have seen in their career.
Kim Kardashian shares ‘heartbreaking’ letter by Melissa Lucio’s children in bid to stop execution
Women on death row: How being a ‘bad mother, bad wife and bad woman’ became a death warrant
I’m an expert in false confessions who looked at Melissa Lucio’s case. Texas is executing an innocent woman- Juror who sentenced Melissa Lucio to death for daughter’s murder calls for retrial: ‘I was wrong’
Where is the death penalty still used in America?
Twenty-seven states across America still have the death penalty.
They are Alabama, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Kentucky. Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, and Wyoming.
Nathan Place and Helen Elfer look at where and how often the death penalty is still used in the United States.
American death map: Which US states have capital punishment and who uses it the most?
Many object to the inconsistency with which the US death penalty is applied across the country
‘Time is running out. The state must listen’
Rafael Anchía, a Democrat Texas state representative, posted the following after the visit to see Melissa Lucio in prison.
“Yesterday, my #txlege colleagues and I met Melissa Lucio in person. We embraced, prayed, and spoke of her love for her children.”
He added: “Time is running out. The state must listen to Melissa’s family and the countless advocates who are calling for #JusticeForMelissa.”
Bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers visit Lucio in prison
A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers visited Melissa Lucio on death row on Wednesday as they continue their efforts to halt her execution.
State representatives Jeff Leach, a Republican from Plano, and Joe Moody, a Democrat from El Paso, led a group of lawmakers to the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where the state houses women awaiting execution.
The visit comes as pressure builds to grant clemency over her execution as doubts remain regarding whether she did fatally beat her two-year-old daughter to death in 2007. Lucio has always maintained her innocence and her lawyers argue her daughter, Mariah, died from injuries sustained falling down a steep staircase in the days prior to her death.
Melissa Lucio faces execution on 27 April unless action is taken by the state’s parole board and Governor Greg Abbott.
Seven lawmakers toured the prison for about two hours before meeting privately with Lucio for about 40 minutes.
Mr Moody tweeted: “Today, I was led in prayer by #MelissaLucio. It was an incredibly powerful. We’ve asked @GovAbbott to spare her. We’ve asked the Board to spare her. But we know that DEMOCRAT @DALuisVSaenz has the immediate power to spare her. I pray he makes the right decision.”
Mr Leach said: “Justice matters. Mercy matters. She matters. We have three weeks to save the life of #MelissaLucio & we plan on doing everything we can between now and then to prevent this irreversible stain on the Lone Star State. I have great hope & invite you to join the fight.”
Kim Kardashian posts ‘heartbreaking’ letter from Lucio’s children
Kim Kardashian, who recently joined the campaign to grant clemency to Melissa Lucio, has posted a letter from Lucio’s children to Texas Governor Greg Abbott and the state pardons and parole board asking to spare the life of their mother.
She tweets: “So heartbreaking to read this letter from Melissa Lucio’s children begging for the state not to kill their mother. There are so many unresolved questions surrounding this case and the evidence that was used to convict her.”
Rally scheduled for tonight at Dallas City Hall
Victoria Neave Criado, a Texas Democrat representing parts of Dallas was another of the lawmakers who visited Lucio on Wednesday.
She tweeted: “Against the cold facade of Texas Death Row, #MelissaLucio sat with us, glowing & filled with hope, love for her family, & a profound faith that she will walk free one day. She stated that every day is a struggle, but it is through God’s Grace that she is here, and she will not stop fighting for justice. In that room, hand in hand with Melissa Lucio, we were not Republicans or Democrats, we are citizens of humanity inspired to urgent action to help prevent an irreversible injustice.
Ms Criado also flagged up a rally taking place at 6pm this evening at Dallas City Hall.
Why is Melissa Lucio on death row?
Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in 2008 after she was convicted of killing her two-year-old child Mariah one year earlier.
In February 2007, Mariah died from injuries which prosecutors claimed were caused by Lucio abusing her daughter.
Lucio, now 53, has always maintained her innocence and said that her daughter’s injuries were caused by a fall down the stairs two days earlier while the family was moving home.
The mother of 14, who is the first and only Hispanic woman on death row in Texas, has spent the last 14 years awaiting execution for a crime she says she didn’t commit.
Rachel Sharp reports on the details of the case.
Mother on death row for daughter’s death asks for clemency as execution date looms
Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death after being convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter Mariah
‘Today might be the last genuine human contact she has before the state kills her'
Democrat State Representative Joe Moody tweeted on Wednesday: “3 weeks ago I watched #MelissaLucio on tv, moved by her story. Today, 6 other reps and I met her in person. She prayed with us & hugged us; today might be the last genuine human contact she has before the state kills her. Three more weeks is all we have to save her life.”
Why people are rallying to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio in Texas
Supporters ranging from Kim Kardashian to Texas Republicans calling for halt to execution, Josh Marcus explains why the case is attracting so much attention.
‘Time is running out. The state must listen'
Rafael Anchía, a Democrat Texas state representative, posted the following after the visit to see Melissa Lucio in prison.
“Yesterday, my #txlege colleagues and I met Melissa Lucio in person. We embraced, prayed, and spoke of her love for her children.”
He added: “Time is running out. The state must listen to Melissa’s family and the countless advocates who are calling for #JusticeForMelissa.”
Texas lawmakers meet with woman facing execution
A group of bipartisan Texas lawmakers on Wednesday visited a death row inmate whose execution they are trying to stop amid doubts about whether she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter.
State Reps. Jeff Leach, a Republican, and Joe Moody, a Democrat, led a group of lawmakers to the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas, where the state houses women on death row. Melissa Lucio faces execution on April 27.
“We are blessed to have the opportunity to meet with Melissa, to pray with her, to spend time with her and we’re more resolute and committed than ever to fighting over the next three weeks to save her life,” Leach told The Associated Press in an interview after the meeting.
Lucio was convicted of capital murder for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah. Prosecutors say Mariah was the victim of child abuse and there is no evidence that would acquit Lucio of her daughter’s death.
But Lucio’s lawyers say jurors never heard forensic evidence that would have explained Mariah’s various injuries were actually caused by a fall days before her death. They also say Lucio wasn’t allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession, which they allege was not actually a confession and was given under duress after hours of relentless questioning.
Among those who have doubts about Lucio’s guilt are a bipartisan group of 83 Texas House members led by Leach and Moody. They sent the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott a letter last month asking them to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. A spokeswoman for Abbott’s office did not immediately return an email seeking comment.
Leach said he and six other lawmakers toured the prison for about two hours before meeting privately with Lucio for about 40 minutes. The meeting was first reported by The Quorum Report, which covers Texas politics.
The lawmakers encouraged Lucio and talked with her about their efforts to stop her execution, Leach said.
“It was just a sweet, sweet time together, very powerful,” Leach said.
After Wednesday’s meeting, Moody tweeted that, “She prayed with us & hugged us; today might be the last genuine human contact she has before the state kills her.”
Efforts to stop Lucio’s execution have also received support from reality TV star Kim Kardashian West and from several jurors at her trial who are now expressing doubts about her conviction.
In an op-ed published Sunday in the Houston Chronicle, juror Johnny Galvan Jr. said he believes jurors weren’t given all the information needed to make a proper decision and he now feels “deep regret” for sentencing Lucio to death.
“The idea that my decision to take another person’s life was not based on complete and accurate information in a fair trial is horrifying. There are so many problems in this case that I believe she must not be executed,” Galvan wrote.
In 2019, a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Lucio’s conviction, ruling she was deprived of “her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense.” However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons.
Lucio’s attorneys had asked the appeals court to recall its decision but the request was denied last week.
But in a footnote in the brief decision, 5th Circuit Judge Patrick Higginbotham called Lucio’s case “a systemic failure, producing a train of injustice which only the hand of the Governor can halt.”
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.
AP
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