The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP. "The Innocence Project recognized the urgency that an innocent woman was headed for execution," Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation for the organization, told ABC News. 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. [15], A 2011 appeal against the conviction was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. 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.". Lucios lawyers say that Mariahs death was due to falling down the stairs but prosecutors say that Mariahs injuries were from someone hitting or hurting her. Lucio was found guilty of abusing and killing her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. Melissa Lucio Mariahs mother was found guilty of capital murder. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding her daughter Mariah. "Mariah's death was a tragedy not a murder. Updated on March 25, 2022, 2:30 p.m. He is now serving a 13-year federal prison sentence for bribery and extortion. At one point, a ranger got within inches of Lucio's face and said there was evidence that did not look good, the petition stated. Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in 2014 for extortion in a case unrelated to Lucio's, described this statement as a confession during the trial. "She gets very emotional because no one believed her for so many years that she was innocent. In a March 2022 letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Governor Abbott, eighty-three members of the Texas House of Representatives, including both Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter stating that executing Lucio would be "a miscarriage of justice". }); The content produced by YourTango is for informational and educational purposes only. Liliana Segura, Jordan Smith. Lucio was convicted of killing her daughter, Mariah Alvarez, 15 years ago in . New evidence suggests the death may have been an accident - and today, the Texas Board of Pardons . Her supporters say she was . Her father died when she was an infant, and the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where her mother had grown up, when she was a toddler. "She was a good mother. She stated that he was often addicted to drugs and alcohol and was physically abusive. According to The Marshall Project, Crain, who maintains her innocence, wrote that she had flashbacks to her abusive husband when she was being yelled at by a detective. An Innocence Project petition calling for a stop to Lucio's execution has surpassed its goal, having received over 185,000 signatures. Unfortunately for her, this is also around the time that she claims to have been sexually abused by her mothers boyfriend for two years starting at age seven. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and had her first five children with Guadalupe Lucio. Lucio claimed that Alvarez had fallen down the stairs but it was quickly noted that Alvarez had suffered horrific abuse. Child Protective Services was present in the family's life, but there was never an accusation of abuse by any of her children, Potkin said. Mariahs autopsy showed signs of a blood coagulation disorder, which causes profuse bruising throughout the body. After Mariah was born authorities found out that Lucio had taken cocaine. Court documents show that prosecutors argued at Lucio's trial that she had repeatedly abused Mariah and killed her by hitting her in the head. Three older children went to live in Houston with their father, and Lucio regained custody of the others in late 2006.[5]. "And she was ashamed of what she did, and she had a hard time admitting to officers what had occurred. since Ms. Lucios trial because it has no scientific basis. Details about what allegedly happened in the interrogation room were also outlined in the clemency petition. 27, 2022 for the 2007 death of Mariah. As two experts on false confessions have determined, due to the officers tactics and Ms. Lucios vulnerability, her incriminating statements are not a reliable confession of her guilt, but rather are a regurgitation of information relayed to her from investigators throughout the interrogation.. "We promised #MelissaLucio and her family we'd do everything we can do to prevent this irreversible injustice from taking place later this month,"Leach wrote Thursday on Twitter. Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. Selinas claims contradict the evidence presented in the case. In 2016, in recognition of the fact that bite mark evidence lacks scientific validity and following the exoneration of a man in Texas convicted based on faulty bite mark evidence, the Texas Forensic Science Commission recommended a state-wide moratorium on the use of bite mark evidence in criminal cases. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Instead of taking the steps to learn about Mariahs health history and investigating the causes of her injuries, authorities immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had been murdered and, through a coercive interrogation, pressured Ms. Lucio to make a false statement. The Innocence Project notes that Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time and was likely overwhelmed and grief-stricken after Mariahs death. The interrogating officers refused to hear the truth: that Melissa did not, and would not, ever hurt her children. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called capital murder. Lucio said Mariah fell down the stairs two days ago and got hurt. In the 2020 documentary "The State of Texas vs. Melissa," Lucio said investigators kept pushing her to say she had hurt Mariah. The tragic incident that took away a young life happened in her own house. 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. After several hours of interrogation, Lucio stated, "I guess I did it. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Still a minor and unable to leave the abusive marriage, Ms. Lucio was trapped and developed a substance use problem. During her interrogation, Ms. Lucio asserted her innocence more than 100 times, until she was manipulated into falsely taking responsibility for some of Mariahs injuries by police officers. Child Protective Services found that Lucios younger children were often left with their older siblings during a previous investigation into her for neglecting her children. Okay, let's kill them. Mariah fell down a flight of stairs while the family was moving homes on Feb. 15, 2007. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office said Mariah was found at home with signs of abuse. Her husband later abandoned her and their five children. A psychologist who reviewed recent testing of Melissa said that Melissa has highly abnormal levels of vulnerability to police coercion because of her background. Mariah was the twelfth child of Lucio. Circuit Court of Appeals overturned Lucio's conviction, ruling she was deprived of "her constitutional right to present a meaningful defense." said, adding that an emergency room doctor said it was the "absolute worst" case of child abuse. April 17 2022, 4:00 a.m. "Free Melissa . According to Dr. Young, Melissa Lucio should not be executed because he believes she is innocent. Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Lucio was convicted for the death of her daughter Mariah Alvarez. He then told Lucio that he would "help" her if she told him what he already knew. In a previous investigation into Lucio for alleged child neglect, Child Protective Services found that his youngest kids were frequently left in the care of their older, teenage siblings. Her lawyers say this lifelong trauma made her susceptible to giving a false confession. [1] Lucio's execution was set for April 27, 2022, but an appeals court granted her a stay on April 25, 2022. Paramedics were called to Melissa Lucio's home in Harlingen, Texas, on Feb. 17, 2007, after her 2-year-old daughter Mariah Alvarez was found unresponsive and not breathing. During the interrogation, officers berated and intimidated Ms. Lucio, who was pregnant and in shock from the loss of her child, for five hours. The detectives shouted at her, berated her for being a neglectful mother, and implied that if Mariah's death was not her fault then it had to have been one of her children, according to the petition. Lucio that her teenage daughter, Alexandra, may have been responsible for the bruises found on Mariahs body after her death. "I don't want to be in that room on April 27 to see her get executed," Michelle Lucio said. "Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal," the office wrote in court documents last month. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez became parents to Mariah in September 2004. Please consult your doctor before taking any action. I'm responsible. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez welcomed Mariah into the world in September 2004. More are learning about Ms. Lucios case and advocating for her each day. You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked. It would be an absolutely devastating message for this execution to go forward. Updated on April 18, 2022, 7:30 p.m. However, the case of Melissa Lucio, who murdered her daughter after years of abuse, has sparked more debate than ever before. The Texas Attorney General's Office maintains evidence shows Mariah suffered the "absolute worst" case of child abuse her emergency room doctor had seen in 30 years. Selina believes her mother is guilty. 2023 Innocence Project. The brief states that Lucio's subdued behavior and acquiescence during interrogation were the result of prior trauma as a survivor of abuse. On the other hand, her lawyers have been claiming that she was wrongfully convicted of beating her own child. 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. The project's petition, asking Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution, has received over 44,000 signatures. Lucio said that Mariah had fallen down a steep staircase during the family's move to a new apartment two days prior, but did not appear seriously injured, according to court records. 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. In shock and grieving the loss of her baby. Isla Bryson Husband: Is Isla Bryson Married? To date, over 100 bipartisan Texas lawmakers signed letters urging the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to recommend clemency for Melissa. The husband of Melissa Lucio, Roberto Antonio Alvarez, is known to have testified in the case involving the death of his daughter, Mariah Alvarez. 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. Her execution is set to take place on April 27. Lucio asserted her innocence more than 100 times by verbally saying 86 times that she did not kill Mariah and by shaking her head no 35 other times, the petition said. I have never seen a more troubling case than the case of Melissa Lucio," said state Rep. Jeff Leach, who signed the letter. Lucio, who is an inmate on Texas death row, is set to be executed on Apr. As noted in the appeals court opinion document, one of the investigators described Lucio's behavior. "I guess I did it," Lucio responded when asked if she was responsible for some of Mariah's injuries. "[10], During the trial, Lucio's recorded statements from her interrogation were described as a confession by Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was seeking re-election at the time. The Innocence Project, a criminal justice reform nonprofit that aims to exonerate wrongly convicted persons using DNA and other evidence, joined Lucio's legal team soon after her execution was scheduled in January. In 2008 a Cameron County jury found Lucio guilty on one count of capital murder for causing the death of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Michelle Lucio, John's wife who knew Melissa Lucio prior to her conviction, recalled the conversations with her during their visits in prison. "And we intend on keeping that promise.". They used coercive methods known to produce false confessions. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter, Mariah Alvarez Autopsy In the U.S. state of Texas, Melissa Lucio is the first woman of Hispanic descent to receive a death sentence. After nearly 15 years on death row in Texas, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled . The autopsy also revealed that Mariah had suffered a head injury and bruises on her kidneys, lungs, and spinal cord. His father, who survived, led the effort to save Whitaker, saying he would be victimized again if his son was executed. The Lucio family went to the event to urge the governor to . were wrongly convicted of harming children or other loved ones in their care and over 70% were wrongly convicted of crimes that never took place at all events that were accidents, deaths by suicide, or fabricated according to data from the, Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. 89.44.32.192 At the time of her death, Mariah was healing from an injury to her arm, which the medical examiner also said was a sign of abuse. According to court documents, Melissa Lucio was born on June 18, 1969, in Lubbock, Texas. "The fact that we are all here today and why almost 90 state representatives, the majority of the Texas House, have rallied behind this cause to save Melissa Lucio's life is because of the injustices in her case. The district attorney's office said in a statement to the Brownsville Herald that Mariah had been "severely beaten," had "bruises in various states of healing covering her body" and had missing portions of her hair. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. But Ms. Lucios life is still in jeopardy. "Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. Experts said these conditions are all risk factors that make a person more likely to falsely confess. [6][failed verification] According to Lucio, Mariah had sustained the injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs two days earlier. It would send a message that innocence doesn't matter," said Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucio's attorneys who is with the Innocence Project. Now, are you a cold-blooded killer or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on [Mariah]?" 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. In shock and grieving the loss of her baby the youngest of her 12 children at the time Ms. Lucio was taken into police custody and immediately blamed for her daughters death. Melissa Lucios husband Roberto Antonio Alvarez testified in the case about the death of his daughter Mariah Alvarez. In a previous investigation into Lucio for alleged child neglect, Child Protective Services found that his youngest kids were frequently left in the care of their older, teenage siblings. The autopsy showed that Mariah also had a head injury and bruises on her kidneys lungs and spinal cord. Abbott has granted clemency to only one death row inmate, Thomas Whitaker, since taking office in 2015. Lucio, a mother of 14, is on death row for the 2007 murder of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. [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. Family photo via AP Grants Clemency To Julius Jones Hours Before Scheduled Execution Amid Public Pressure. Alexander Molony Parents: Who Are Alexander Molony Parents? More than 130 Baptist, Evangelical and Catholic faith leaders in Texas, including the executive director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas and the director of the Rio Grande Valley Baptist Association, support clemency for Ms. Lucio. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death, July 10, 2008, in Brownsville, Texas. Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP. Lawyers for Lucio deny those claims and say the bruising was a result of the fall. Though Selina believes her mother is guilty, she does not want her to be killed and says she signed the petition to request clemency for Lucio. Ms. Lucio struggled at times to provide for her family, but was a caring mother, who did her best given her incredibly difficult circumstances. "There's so much more to it that happens way before the crime.". jsTikTok.type = 'text/javascript'; However, a pediatric orthopedic surgeon who reviewed the evidence concluded that the medical examiners testimony was misleading and there is nothing about Mariahs fracture that indicates that, was the result of an intentional act or abuse. A woman facing execution in Texas for killing her daughter is seeking clemency, claiming she was coerced into confessing to the crime. Officers used powerfully manipulative techniques many of which rise to the level of risk factors for false confession to coerce Ms. Lucio to incriminate herself. "I was not gonna admit to causing her death because I wasn't responsible," Lucio said. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office reports that Mariah was discovered at the residence with physical evidence of abuse. She had her head down. Mariah Alvarez, daughter of Melissa Lucio, was a young little girl who lost her life at a very young age. However, Ms. Lucios husband perpetuated the cycle of abuse. 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. Afterward, Lucio had seven kids with Robert Alvarez. On Wednesday, they visited Lucio at Mountain View Unit in Gatesville. They say he didnt take his daughter to the doctor when she needed it. Greg Abbott to grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. She also claims three of her older siblings, who have largely stood by Lucio, were not around for the abuse and were living in a different home. Our website services, content and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. A juror from the trial has since expressed concerns and regret over the verdict, according to the Innocence Project. Lucio, 40, of Harlingen was found guilty of capital murder for the death of her 21/2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. All she had was us," she said. [3] Lucio says she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend for about two years, beginning when she was seven years old. He concluded that Dr. Farley appeared to have jumped to wrong conclusions. The Texas Rangers did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails for comment about the case. Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles. "Do it real hard," he said. Convicted of murdering one of her 9 children, her 2 year old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. The detectives also handed Lucio a doll and asked her to demonstrate what happened, according to the petition. "[10], One of Lucio's sons was also questioned by law enforcement shortly after Mariah's death. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. She claimed that he was frequently physically abusive and drug and alcohol-dependent. [26], On March 6, 2022, in the main segment of an episode of the HBO show Last Week Tonight with John Oliver called "Wrongful Convictions", her case was the main one to be mentioned as a reason for the reform of the American justice system and specifically, the abolition of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA). Make sure everyone on Twitter knows her name: Tweet now, 10 datos que debes saber sobre esta mujer inocente que enfrenta su ejecucin. ET:This article has been updated to reflect the latest news in this case. window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { Melissa Lucio holds her daughter Mariah. The jury was deprived of key evidence to weigh: that is the point.. Did OJ Simpson's Son Jason Kill Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman? HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. "When you get to this point, you find there's so many layers that most people aren't aware of and don't care about, frankly. As the interrogation dragged on, Lucio told detectives that she had hit Mariah in the past, but did not say she killed the little girl. Melissa Lucio: 10 Facts You Should Know Ab 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. She was especially vulnerable, her lawyers say, as she was grieving for her daughter, pregnant with twins at the time, and a victim of abuse and trauma throughout her life. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. The board plans to vote on Lucio's clemency petition two days before the scheduled execution, Rachel Alderete, the board's director of support operations, said in an email. Her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, was sentenced to four years in prison for child endangerment. Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. By way of history, Mr. Alvarez found his daughter pale and not breathing in the family home and attempted to perform cardiopulmonary resuscitation until EMS arrived. 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. All Rights Reserved. This is an incredibly serious allegation that must be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in order to ensure justice for a young girl whose life has already been so drastically impacted by such trauma. "She was not evil. 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. Among the tips is to make the victim feel safe, arrange for an advocate to be present in the room, express compassion and not interrupt the victim. Ms. Lucio endured abuse throughout her childhood and into her teenage years. Only a barbaric people allow such depravity. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. Paramedics were called to the Lucio home on February 17, 2007, as two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and was unresponsive. [21] Lucio subsequently petitioned for clemency. At 6 years old, she was sexually assaulted by one of her mother's partners, her legal team said in the clemency petition. The local hospital said the child had passed away. Calls are growing for Texas to stop the approaching execution of Melissa Lucio, who says she was wrongfully convicted of killing her toddler Mariah in 2007. She is scheduled to be executed by. But this can be detrimental because "a lot of trauma symptoms look like these behavioral cues of lying," Guarnera said. There is now evidence that all three of these things happened in Ms. Lucios case. Lucio claims that starting when she was seven years old, her mothers boyfriend sexually abused her for approximately two years. On February 17 2007 paramedics came to the Lucio home because two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and didnt respond. Without that context, the jury was undoubtedly swayed by Ms. Lucios statement and the Texas Rangers testimony about her demeanor during the interrogation. Her lawyers say that statement was wrongly interpreted by prosecutors as a murder confession tainting the rest of the investigation into Mariah's 2007 death, with evidence gathered only to prove that conclusion, and helping lead to her capital murder conviction. tiktokscr.parentNode.insertBefore(jsTikTok, tiktokscr); 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.

Kelsey Megan Thee, Mercedes Leather Seat Repair Cost, Chief Oconostota Lineage, Articles M