Her second life partner continued to rape her and threatened her with death. Toon wondered why Lucios story wasnt getting as much attention as the cases of some of the men on Texass death row. Her first husband, the group says, was a violent alcoholic who left her after she gave birth to their five children. Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish, and grief. Research says Mariah was physically abused, and people like Ms. Lucio often agree to conditions they never condemned while under tremendous pressure from the majority of people. . 2023 BBC. Lucios other claims did not meet statutory requirements, the appeals court found, and will not be reviewed. Prosecutors at her . She was convicted 14 years ago of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, and a Texas jury sentenced her to death. "Their electric service was cut, they moved some 26 times in a five-year period. What does that mean?. he asked. The trial court will also be asked to consider the claim that Lucio is innocent of murder. "It's very common to be mistaken for abuse if you don't look for the signs.". When the . John Oliver, the comedian, featured the case in a segment on wrongful convictions on his HBO news programme last month, and Kim Kardashian earlier this month tweeted a letter to the Texas governor signed by nine of Melissa's children pleading for her life to be spared. We certainly want Melissa to get her hearing as quickly as possible, Schardl said. 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As a result, they argue, in part, executing her would violate constitutional guarantees of a right to protection from cruel and unusual punishment. hide caption. While bouncing around online, Toon came across the documentary The State of Texas v. Melissa, which confirmed her instincts that Lucio was innocent. It simply has not been the same in the past 15 years," he said. Have you heard the news? "No, I'm not." Her husband continued to abuse her physically, emotionally, and sexually, producing 5 children even at the age of being minor, and abandoned the whole family leaving behind Lucio and her kids. However, she has maintained her innocence ever since. Melissa Lucio, 53, was sentenced to die by lethal injection for the 2007 death of her daughter, Mariah, which police and prosecutors attributed to a beating at the hands of her mother. VideoRecord numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story. She was convicted 14 years ago of murdering her 2-year-old . Lucio, a mother of 14, has been on Texas death row since 2008, when she was convicted in the murder of her 2-year-old daughter the prior year. During an emotional press conference he stated, "I don't want my mom to be executed. Lucio's supporters say many of the issues in her trial trace back to the head prosecutor in the case, Armando Villalobos. I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren". But as new details have emerged about her case, a growing chorus of lawmakers, faith leaders, anti-domestic violence organizations and celebrities has called for clemency. It was potentially one of the last times he would see her alive. According to local media, others are still convinced she committed the crime - Melissa had a previously had a history of drug use and some of her children had been taken into care, the jurors heard at her trial - though there was no evidence of abuse. Lucio was kind and gentle; Toon couldnt imagine that she was capable of killing anyone, let alone her own daughter. "At some point they didn't hear Mariah playing anymore, went to check on her, and she had managed to get out of the screen door and was at the bottom of the staircase," says Potkin, the Innocence Project attorney. ", Speaking to CBS Mornings he said: 'If they go through with it, they'll be killing an innocent woman.. How many children does Melissa Lucio have? During the five-hour-long interrogation, officers berated and . 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 . Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio, dressed in white, leads a group of seven Texas lawmakers in prayer on April 6 in a room at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. AP 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's children previously wrote a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, pleadingGov. Courtesy of the Lucio family. She prodded Luna, then her roommate, to watch the movie. She refuted Gilman's claims that some of Lucio's older children were unruly and hard to handle by foster parents. SAN ANTONIO - The governor of Texas is under pressure to stop the planned execution of a mother convicted of killing her child. Lucios life wasnt as easy and smooth as other childrens. Please give us the chance for closure. Selina, the fifth of Lucio's 14 children, initially came forward on TikTok back in 2021 after the release of "The State Of Texas vs. Melissa," a documentary on Hulu that covers the case and . Calls for mercy grow days before Melissa Lucio is set to be executed, I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence, Lucio said in a statement. After years of unsuccessful appeals, Melissa Lucio, a Rio Grande Valley woman convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, has learned the date of her execution April 27. Five of the trial's 12 jurors have called for her clemency. Melissa Lucio (Provided by the Lucio family) Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. . They implored him to step up and withdraw it. Lucioss life was not as simple and smooth as other childrens. We cant say exactly how long, but we certainly dont want her to spend one day longer in prison than is absolutely necessary.. And despite Mondays stay of execution, she remains on death row, Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, said in a news conference Monday. Greg Abbott to either grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. DeSantis won't say he's running. Lucio's thoughts are with her children, Potkin said, as she talks to friends about the roles they could play in the life of her kids if she is not alive after next week. She is the mother of 14 children, including Mariah. ", 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. (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. Prosecutors at trial argued Lucio, now 53, was an abusive mother who caused the injuries that led to her daughter Mariahs death. 'That's my mother. After the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, the court charged her with capital murder. The medical examiner concluded Mariah died from a blow to her head. "I hit her like this," she demonstrated by spanking a doll, sealing her fate. According to the reports, she has undergone a continuous and repetitive highly abnormal level of vulnerability. Even after none of her children of Lucio accepted the physical abuse by their mother, the police and the pathologists continued to claim that Mariahs death was not because of the fall from stairs. On 25th April 2022, the Texas Court issued a stay of execution and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence in the case of Lucio for her innocence regarding the death of her daughter Mariah. Tivon Schardl, supervisory assistant federal public defender in the Capital Habeas Unit in Austin, and part of Lucio's current defense team, said the jurors were not given the full picture: "There's been just a concerted effort to keep this evidence from being considered.". Among those calling for a stay of execution are a bipartisan group of 103 members of the Texas legislature - including 32 Republican . According to Lucio, she was once sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend. She hadnt. All Rights Reserved. Melissa Lucio, the South Texas mother of 14 who was days from her execution date, has been granted a stay from the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Melissa Lucio's son has vowed to "keep fighting until she gets to come home" as the case of the Texas mother-of-14 heads to state court following her last-minute stay of execution.. Bobby . The state of Texas has scheduled the execution of the case of Melissa Lucio for the 27th of April. Video, Record numbers of guide dog volunteers after BBC story, Prince Andrew offered Frogmore Cottage - reports, Ed Sheeran says wife developed tumour in pregnancy, Man survives 31 days in jungle by eating worms, China and Belarus call for peace in Ukraine, Bieber cancels remaining Justice world tour dates, Eli Lilly caps monthly insulin costs in US at $35, Kobe Bryant widow wins $29m settlement from LA, Ruling party wins Nigeria's presidential election. On 27 April, Melissa Lucio was supposed to die. The lawmakers visited Lucio to update her about their efforts to stop her April 27 execution. Ms. Lucio's passive and apparently flat demeanor is best explained by her history of repeated sexual, physical, and emotional abuse since childhood.". Photo: Christian K. Lee/Chronicle. She was abused throughout her childhood and adolescence. "It looks from the outside like somebody has gotten, say, punched," said Schardl. In 2008, Lucio was convicted and sentenced to die. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz who was not the DA at the time of Lucio's trial told Texas lawmakers last week that he would move to delay Lucio's execution if the Board of Pardons and Paroles rejects calls for clemency and the courts don't intervene. April 28 2022, 3:00 a.m. Melissa Lucio's loved ones react to her stay of execution during a press conference in Gatesville, Texas, on April 25, 2022. 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 state of Texas has scheduled the execution in the Melissa Lucio case for April 27. She was convicted 14 years ago of murdering her 2-year-old . Without any legal representation, Melissa was fiercely interrogated by Cameron County TX police for 7 hours. Theyd also filed a petition with the Court of Criminal Appeals, arguing that new evidence undermined Lucios conviction. Now, her family, more than 80 state lawmakers from both parties, and even some of the jurors who convicted her say she should live. Before all this, "we were a large family and we were very united", her eldest son, John, told BBC. Who is Melissa Lucio? Lucio, 52, had been set to be executed by lethal injection Wednesday for the death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a city . For a time, the only access they had to water was through their neighbours' houses or from the parish.". Are you serious! 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. "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.". Her family and friends are protesting her punishment and claim she . Mariah is in my heart today and always.. But although Lucio had a history of being investigated by Child Protective Services, she had no history of physically abusing her kids. Melissa Lucio was born on July 18, 1968 in Lubbock, Texas. John has organised sitdowns seeking the release of his mother and said he will continue fighting. According to the reports, she has gone through a continuous and repetitive highly abnormal level of vulnerability. Read about our approach to external linking. 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. Lucios attorneys say those injuries were actually the result of a fall down stairs outside the familys apartment. 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 . Dozens of politicians from both parties have backed her. Lucio's attorneys say police had already decided on a narrative when they brought her in for interrogation. Learn how your comment data is processed. And so she has to confront that reality, too, that the execution could go forward.". Thats all it takes to support the journalism you rely on. According to the state, Lucio, then a mother of 12 who struggled with drug addiction, had beaten her toddler to death in February 2007. Since turning 18, he described meeting with his mother on death row as he backed her claims that Mariahs death was an accident. 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. Photograph: The Guardian. Who is Melissa Lucio? 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. Despite receiving the death penalty, she was described by campaign organisations as a "loving and caring mother," who tried her best to provide financially for her family. Its not over by a long shot; this campaign has to continue, Bonowitz told a smattering of TV reporters. That's what Lucio told first responders and the police. 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. Valley Morning Star via AP. 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. Moments later, he interrupted the interview. Lucio and her team had raised nine claims with the appeals court, four of which were remanded to the trial court. . 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. A majority of the judges said the conviction had to be upheld because they were barred by a procedural rule that limits a federal court's ability to review state court findings. 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. The idea that the office mightve engaged in legal trickery to invigorate their case against Lucio is hardly surprising; then-District Attorney Armando Villalobos was trying to rehabilitate his reelection campaign amid allegations of corruption, and he was up against a challenger who had taken him to task for failing to prosecute child abuse cases. 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. Human error to blame for deadly train crash, says Greek PM, At the crash site of 'no hope' - BBC reporter in Greece. Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. On April 27, 53-year-old Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is scheduled to be strapped to a gurney in the Texas execution chamber and given a lethal dose of drugs. 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. "She is an innocent woman," John Lucio, Melissa's eldest son, told Latino USA at a protest outside the Cameron County Courthouse in February. 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