Lacking solid physical evidence, Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos presented Ms. Lucios conciliatory statement to the jury as a confession to homicide and sought the death penalty. She allegedly suffered abuse by multiple partners that continued throughout her teenage years and into adulthood. "If those threats in the interrogation are a trigger and she checks out, it can again be easy for her to just say whatever because she's trying to cope with what feels like a present threat.". Her inadvertent statement was then characterized by the prosecution as a confession to murder. FilmRise By Maurice Chammah The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. Did OJ Simpson's Son Jason Kill Nicole Brown & Ron Goldman? I am now convinced that the jury got it wrong and I know that there is too much doubt to execute Lucio. Experts who have studied false confessions and trauma response said Lucio's behavior is common in abuse victims and criticized the Rangers' interrogation tactics. Lucio has said that her daughter who had a condition that caused her foot to be turned in fell down a flight of outdoor stairs as the family was preparing to move to a new apartment. [9][23] The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, announced on April 22 that he sent a letter to Governor Abbott asking him to grant executive clemency to Lucio, as "Mexico has historically manifested an unwavering commitment in its opposition to the death penalty. Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. According to court documents, Melissa Lucio was born on June 18, 1969, in Lubbock, Texas. jsTikTok.type = 'text/javascript'; Minyvonne Burkeis a senior breaking news reporter for NBC News. pic.twitter.com/QZc5YyJZvo (@truecrimewitch) January 15, 2019 "She was a good mother. In this case, Melissa Lucio, Mariahs mother, was found guilty of capital murder. ", "Her execution date looming, a mother maintains innocence in 2-year-old daughter's death", "Execution date set for Harlingen mom for murdering daughter", "Melissa Lucio execution - latest: Kim Kardashian appeals to Texas governor as juror says death sentence wrong", "Death row mum-of-14 hopes new videos could clear her of toddler's fatal fall", "Texas Set to Execute Melissa Lucio Despite Credible Claims of Innocence", "Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos Sentenced To Federal Prison In Connection With South Texas Bribery Scheme", "Harlingen woman faces April execution for daughter's 2007 murder", "Melissa Elizabeth Lucio v. The State of Texas (concurring)", "Federal Appeals Court Overturns Mother's Conviction in Texas Child Murder Case That May Have Been an Accidental Death", "Divided Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Death Sentence for Texas Mother of Child Who May Have Died in Accidental Fall", "Court Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law: Manuel Velez", "A Texas mother could be executed in April. "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. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. The trial court prohibited this testimony but allowed the Texas Ranger who coerced Ms. Lucios incriminating statement to testify, falsely, for the prosecution that Ms. Lucios slumped posture, passivity, and failure to make eye contact told him that she was guilty. Attempts to reach Crain were unsuccessful. American woman controversially sentenced to death, Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, List of death row inmates in the United States, List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States, List of women on death row in the United States, "Woman with Lubbock ties to be executed, many take up the cause to stop it", "Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed for a crime that may not have occurred", "Is Texas Sending Melissa Lucio to Die for a Crime That Never Happened? 16th Street, 2nd Avenue, Batsona Community 18 Family photo via AP Web: www.ghgossip.com, About Us Contact Advertise Privacy Policy, Get To Know Neil Wagner: Biography, Age, Career, Net Worth, Height, Relationship & More. At times, they were homeless and relied on food banks for meals, according to the petition. She started abusing only my sister, Mariah.. Ms. Lucio has maintained her innocence on death row for more than 14 years. After Mariah was born authorities found out that Lucio had taken cocaine. 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. Lucio's lawyers say jurors never heard forensic evidence that would have explained that Mariah's various injuries were actually caused by a fall days earlier. He also stated that Lucio's execution would be a terrible tragedy. I'm responsible for it," she said, according to the petition. The Lucio family went to the event to urge the governor to . Melissa , a documentary set to be released in 2020, is based on her case. "Mariah's death was a tragedy not a murder. The project's petition, asking Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution, has received over 44,000 signatures. There is now evidence that all three of these things happened in Ms. Lucios case. }); The content produced by YourTango is for informational and educational purposes only. 03/23/2022 by Anne Tyler Melissa Lucio, a middle-aged mother, was sentenced to death for allegedly killing her two-year-old son. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. In shock and grieving the loss of her baby. "[24], On April 25, 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence of Lucio's innocence in the death of her daughter. } The Cameron County District Attorneys Office said Mariah was found at home with signs of abuse. 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. 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. According to Bonowitz, factors like ableism and racial and socioeconomic bias in the criminal justice system pose too much of a threat to warrant the use of the death penalty. However, the case of Melissa Lucio, who murdered her daughter after years of abuse, has sparked more debate than ever before. var tiktokscr = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0]; Grants Clemency To Julius Jones Hours Before Scheduled Execution Amid Public Pressure, She also claims three of her older siblings, 5 Death Penalty Facts That Will Make You Want To Abolish It Now, Man Refuses To Let His Friend's Service Dog Over To His House Because He's 'Not A Dog Person', Woman Claims Uber Driver 'Sighed' And 'Complained' About Having To Load Her Wheelchair Into His Car, Pedro Pascale Fans Rediscover His Camp Character In 90s Hit Show Undressed & Cant Get Enough Of It, Rumors Swirl That Kim Kardashian May Eventually Run For Office What A Kardashian Presidency Could Look Like. Ms. Lucio endured abuse throughout her childhood and into her teenage years. window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { Mariah was crying but did not appear to have any serious injuries, Lucio said. Ms. Lucio received a death penalty sentence and is appealing. On February 17 2007 paramedics came to the Lucio home because two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and didnt respond. Mechanic agreed, describing dissociation as a coping mechanism. The detectives also handed Lucio a doll and asked her to demonstrate what happened, according to the petition. 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. After the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who had injuries to her head, contusions of the kidneys, lungs, and spinal cord, as well as scattered bruises that were in various stages of healing, she was found guilty of capital murder. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Unable to be resuscitated, her daughter was later pronounced dead at the hospital. isYTTikTok = 0; According to documents filed in the Texas Criminal Court Of Appeals in 2011, the children were found in unsafe conditions with scratches and insect bites. Abbott's office, the Cameron County District Attorney's Office and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles did not immediately respond to ABC News' requests for comment. The local hospital declared the child dead. I dont want her to be executed, she says. Lucio's second-oldest daughter, 20 at the time of Mariah's death, said she told police and Lucio's lawyers that her 15-year-old sister would abuse Mariah when their parents weren't around . A mitigation specialist at trial named Norma Villanueva claims that Alexandra admitted during a family meeting in June 2008 that she was the reason Mariah fell down the stairs.. Was her child's death really a murder? Guadalupe Lucio and Melissa Lucio had their first five children together when they were just 16 years old with their youngest daughter Lucio being the most recent addition. She claimed that he was frequently physically abusive and drug and alcohol-dependent. "You can see this in Melissa Lucio's case. 27, 2022 for the 2007 death of Mariah. ", The investigator went on to say that he knew Lucio wanted to confess "because she's giving that slouched appearance.". In 2008 a Cameron County jury found Lucio guilty on one count of capital murder for causing the death of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. According to the Cameron County District Attorney's Office, Mariah was found at the home with signs of abuse on her body. Five of Lucios children were not living with her at the time of Mariah's death. "I was not gonna admit to causing her death because I wasn't responsible," Lucio said. Instead, those fighting for Lucio to be granted clemency claim she is a survivor of child physical and sexual abuse who was coerced into confessing to Mariahs murder. The death penalty is wrong. Officers contaminated the confession by repeatedly showing Ms. Lucio photographs of relevant evidence and suggesting certain words and facts, which she ultimately parroted back to the officers. "Interrogation is also a very cognitively demanding task so you need to be listening, you need to be parsing the truth and falsity of the information, you need to be thinking about your future options and consequences.". RELATED: 5 Death Penalty Facts That Will Make You Want To Abolish It Now. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez welcomed Mariah into the world in September 2004. Lucio is seeking clemency as her April 27 execution date approaches. Melissa Lucio has spent the last 15 years on death row after she was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. 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. They say he didnt take his daughter to the doctor when she needed it. At Ms. Lucios trial, the medical examiner testified that the bruises and injuries on Mariahs body could only have been caused by abuse. [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). Bite mark analysis has been wholly discredited since Ms. Lucios trial because it has no scientific basis. Greg Abbott and other elected officials to stop her execution. , 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. The jury was deprived of key evidence to weigh: that is the point.. "Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal," the office wrote in court documents last month. She had many bruises bite marks on her back patches of hair pulled out and a broken arm. Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. 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. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. The autopsy showed that Mariah also had a head injury and bruises on her kidneys lungs and spinal cord. 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.Lucio Successor Writ Application, at 136 (quoting David Thompsons Expert Report). You know? jsTikTok.async = true; The toddler had a mild physical disability that made her unstable while walking and prone to tripping. 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. They were returned to Lucio three months before Mariahs death. Her dad passed away when she was a baby so her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley where her mother grew up when she was still a little kid. Melissa Lucio holds her daughter Mariah. It was later determined that Mariah's arm had been broken two to seven weeks before her death, and an autopsy also showed a head injury and bruising of the kidneys, lungs and spinal cord. "Melissa Lucio has already thoroughly litigated the issues raised during her defense, including the theories that her statement was coerced and that her two-year-old daughter Mariah. Afterward, Lucio had seven kids with Robert Alvarez. 2023byTango Publishing Corporation All Rights Reserved. Isla Bryson Children: Does Isla Bryson Have Children. 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. Potkin said Lucio's presumed guilt "was a complete rush to judgment" spurred on by misunderstanding, a "highly manipulative and coercive" interrogation and faulty forensics. "[10], One of Lucio's sons was also questioned by law enforcement shortly after Mariah's death. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio (born June 18, 1969) is the first woman of Hispanic descent to be sentenced to death in the U.S. state of Texas. Courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy - Melissa Lucio is the first Hispanic woman to receive a death sentence in the state of Texas. 24/7 coverage of breaking news and live events. Police contaminate the persons statement meaning they feed the innocent person crime facts or a specific narrative of guilt. Lucy Guarnera, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia who studies false confessions, said law enforcement often uses "behavioral lie detection" techniques that look at a person's actions to predetermine innocence or guilt. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death, July 10, 2008, in Brownsville, Texas. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. Tema, Ghana, Phone: +233 24 137 5919 "When I walked in, she was not making eye contact with the investigator. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. I believe that she should be in prison. During her trial, those statements were presented to the jury as her confession. var jsTikTok = document.createElement('script'); The State of Texas has scheduled Ms. Lucios execution for April 27, for a crime that never occurred. They also say Lucio wasn't allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession. Join our mailing list to receive the latest news and updates from the Innocence Project: Ms. Lucio is facing execution on April 27 for a crime that never occurred. Lucio, who is an inmate on Texas death row, is set to be executed on Apr. Nearly all proven false confession cases have the following three things in common: As soon as police officers encountered Ms. Lucio, they misclassified her response to the grief and shock of her daughters death as indicative of guilt. Please spare the life of our mother," Lucio's children wrote in a letter to Abbott and the board. Mariah's mother, Melissa Lucio was convicted of capital murder in this case. Mariahs autopsy showed signs of a blood coagulation disorder, which causes profuse bruising throughout the body. As noted in the appeals court opinion document, one of the investigators described Lucio's behavior. Isla Bryson Husband: Is Isla Bryson Married? Your IP: Melissa Lucio was first sentenced to death in 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. More are learning about Ms. Lucios case and advocating for her each day. Without that context, the jury was undoubtedly swayed by Ms. Lucios statement and the Texas Rangers testimony about her demeanor during the interrogation. 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. Ms. Lucio struggled at times to provide for her family, but was a caring mother, who did her best given her incredibly difficult circumstances. Okay, let's kill them. As experts explain, particularly when wielded by male police officers the type of interrogation used against Ms. Lucio simply recapitulates the psychodynamics of domestic abuse. So, it makes sense that women, like Ms. Lucio, who learned to survive domestic abuse by accommodating and conforming to the wishes of the violent partner will likewise accommodate and conform to the demands of a threatening, armed male police officer in the interrogation room. An appeals court opinion detailed how an investigator said he "knew she did something" because of her demeanor. The only person who abused my sister was my mother, Melissa Lucio, she claims in another video. She was scheduled for execution on April 27, 2022. Email: [emailprotected] Whitaker was convicted of masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother. Website by MADEO. However, pathologists who have reviewed the evidence have concluded that this testimony was false. The parole board was scheduled to vote on Lucio's clemency petition two days before the execution. She was interrogated for five hours by armed police officers who reportedly berated her. In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" Two more children (twins) were born while she was imprisoned. "I think that's really significant that, you know, the individuals who heard the evidence against Melissa feel that the new evidence is so powerful that they may have voted differently in the case, and it just underscores the need for a court to consider the new evidence of Melissa's innocence," Potkin said. At 6 years old, she was sexually assaulted by one of her mother's partners, her legal team said in the clemency petition. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. As Lucio's case hangs in the balance, a group of bipartisan Texas lawmakers led by Republican Rep. Jeff Leach is pleading with Gov. Lucio's supporters have said her clemency request is similar in that her family would be retraumatized if she's executed. Research has shown that survivors of sexual abuse and violence, like Ms. Lucio, are even more vulnerable to. MELISSA ELIZABETH LUCIO, Appellant v. THE STATE OF TEXAS ON DIRECT APPEAL CAUSE NUMBER 07-CR-885-B IN THE 138TH JUDICIAL DISTRICT COURT CAMERON COUNTY Hervey, J., delivered the opinion of the Court in which Meyers, Johnson, Keasler, Cochran, and alcala, JJ., joined. . The Cameron County District Attorneys Office reports that Mariah was discovered at the residence with physical evidence of abuse. [17] This decision was subsequently overturned in an en banc hearing of the same court[18] and Lucio remained on death row. HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. Three older children went to live in Houston with their father, and Lucio regained custody of the others in late 2006.[5]. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio, Texas. 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. He continued by telling her, "We already know what happened". Lawyers in Melissa Lucio case request retrial, push for death sentence to be dropped, Rangers believed Lucio had killed Mariah on Feb. 17, 2007, fighting to stop her April 27 execution date, published report on interviewing domestic violence victims. BROWNSVILLE - Melissa Elizabeth Lucio was formally sentenced to death by lethal injection in the 13th Judicial District Court, according to a Cameron county District Attorney's Office release. 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. They contend Mariah died from injuries from a fall down the 14 steps of a steep staircase outside the family's apartment in the South Texas city of Harlingen. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. However, Ms. Lucios husband perpetuated the cycle of abuse. Her young daughter Mariah died and had many injuries like bruises on her head kidneys lungs spinal cord and . What we know today which we didnt know 15 years ago is that survivors of significant trauma and domestic abuse, like Ms. Lucio, are particularly vulnerable to the coercive police interrogation that Ms. Lucio endured for over five hours. New evidence suggests the death may have been an accident - and today, the Texas Board of Pardons . 11 Strict Rules That Elon Musk Makes His Girlfriends & Wives Follow, Justin Bieber Suspected As The Father Of Kourtney Kardashian's Son Reign (Instead Of Scott Disick), Why Kate Moss Was 'Scared' & 'Couldn't Get Out Of Bed For Weeks' After Working With Mark Wahlberg. In their clemency petition, Lucio's lawyers say that while she had used drugs, leading her to temporarily lose custody of her children, she was a loving mother who worked to remain drug-free and provide for her family. [16] In 2019, a three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial because of the trial court's interference in Lucio's right to present a defense. He says he didnt know about Mariah Alvarezs serious injuries before she passed away. She also spoke in one of her sisters TikToks and claimed that blame was placed on her in an attempt to free Lucio. Daughter Of Woman Kim Kardashian Wants Saved From Death Row Claims Mom Abused Sister Before Her Death, Photo: Twitter / Instagram / Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock, Oklahoma Gov. Unprecedented pictures of Melissa Lucio 's examination have surfaced because of the absence of life column prisoner inside the narrative " Death by Mama" airs on ABC. 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