Melissa Lucio cries when she learns that her life has been saved
The Texas Court of Appeals allowed Melissa Lucio to postpone her execution Monday and ordered the court to consider new evidence in her case, just 48 hours before she was sentenced to be killed.
Lucio was told the news in an emotional phone call with Texas spokesman Jeff Leach, where the Latin American mother of 14 was sobbing and gasping, asking, “Are you serious?”
In a statement, the 53-year-old thanked God for saving her life and paid tribute to her late daughter Maria, who “is in my heart today and forever.”
Lucio’s lawyers and supporters also celebrated the decision, including Kim Kardashian, who called it “the best news ever.”
The last-minute stay came minutes before the Texas Pardon and Parole Board recommended that Lucio’s death sentence be commuted to life imprisonment or granted a 120-day reprieve. The Early Release Council said it would not recommend a pardon after the announcement of the stay.
Lucio was sentenced to death for the murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah in 2007.
Her lawyers say she was forced to make false confessions during an aggressive police interrogation and that scientific evidence shows Mariah died of a fall.
Key points
Show the latest update 1650991124
Watch Melissa Lucio’s family talk after she gets a postponement of the execution
Melissa Lucio’s family members spoke at a heartfelt press conference Monday night after she received a last-minute postponement of the execution.
Her sons John Lucio and Bobby Alvarez thanked all those who supported their mother in her struggle for her life and told how they were overwhelmed with emotion when they heard the news.
See part of the press conference here:
Melissa Lucio’s family celebrates her execution
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 5:38 p.m.
1650985239
Melissa’s son Lucio says “her prayers have been answered”
Melissa’s son Lucio said his mother’s prayers had been “answered” after she was granted a last-minute stay on Monday, with only 48 hours left until her upcoming execution.
John Lucio joined his brother Bobby Alvarez, wife Michel Lucio and several supporters at a press conference in Gatesville, Texas, on Monday night after the news that his mother’s life was spared.
He thanked everyone who took part in the battle to save his mother’s life from “the whole globe”.
“We’re just a big old team, you know, fighting for my mother,” he said.
Mr Lucio said the family believed that “God had put these people in our lives” to help his mother in her predicament.
“I find it really, really amazing. I want to say that we all believe in God and we believe that God has placed these people in our lives, “he said.
“My mother is a strong believer in God. Her prayers were as persistent as that widow in the Bible, and her prayers were answered. ”
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 4:00 p.m.
1650983439
Problems raised in the case of Melissa Lucio
Melissa Lucio’s legal team raised many questions and questions about her conviction for the murder of her daughter Maria.
Here are the main arguments put forward by her legal team, which they say support Lucio’s innocence:
“No crime has even been committed,” Lucio says Mariah’s death was caused by an accidental fall down the stairs.
“False confession.” Just hours after her daughter’s death, Lucio was interrogated for five hours by armed male police officers who accused her of beating her child to death. They rebuked the pregnant, grieving mother and “massively manipulated” her, refusing to believe her version of events and showing her pictures of her dead baby, according to her request for clemency.
During the interrogation, Lucio insisted more than 100 times that she had not abused her daughter, according to the request for clemency. But in the end she turned away and admitted that she had slapped Mariah sometimes. “I guess I did,” she said, words that were later accepted as a confession.
The best experts on false confessions say that Lucio gave a “forced false confession” after the vulnerable woman was “fed” with words and facts by armed male authoritative figures during an “aggressive” interrogation. Experts say Lucio was particularly vulnerable to being made to make a false confession because of her history as a victim of violence.
– False scientific evidence during her trial – The forensic doctor told the court that Mariah was a “battered child”, that her injuries must have occurred within 24 hours of her death, that her injuries must have been caused by abuse and they may not have come from a fall and that there are bite marks on her body.
Seven senior medical and forensic experts have now concluded that the forensic doctor’s initial testimony was incorrect.
Instead, they say her injuries are in line with Lucio’s account and that the bruises on the child’s body were likely caused by disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC), a disorder caused by a head injury from infection or a fall.
The analysis of the bite marks – used as evidence during the trial to claim that Mariah was bitten and abused – has also been completely discredited by the scientific community in the meantime. Experts voted to ban the use of such evidence in cases in Texas in 2016.
– Defense testimony rejected by trial abuse. The jury also did not hear that Lucio’s children had given the same account as their mother to the police for the fall and deterioration of their sister’s health.
– Gender bias – While she was sentenced to death, her husband received only four years in prison for Mariah’s death on charges of injuring a child through inaction and is now free.
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 3:30 p.m.
1650981639
Biden pardons 78 people, but there are no federal death row inmates
President Joe Biden pardoned 78 people as part of his second chance of the month, but failed to commute sentences or pardon anyone sentenced to death.
On Tuesday, the president announced that he was pardoning three people and commuting the sentences of 75 others, all of whom have sought to rehabilitate, such as through education and vocational training or drug treatment in prison.
“America is a nation with laws and a second chance, redemption and rehabilitation. Elected officials on both sides of the path, leaders of the faith, defenders of civil rights and law enforcement leaders agree that our criminal justice system can and must reflect these core values that enable safer and more secure strong communities, “Mr Biden said in a statement.
“In the second month of the opportunity, I use my constitutional power to uphold these values by forgiving and changing the sentences of my fellow Americans.”
All individuals have been convicted on federal charges, many of them for nonviolent drug crimes.
The president has not pardoned any of the prisoners sentenced to federal death sentences – something he really has the authority to do.
As part of his election campaign, Mr Biden said he wanted the abolition of the federal death penalty and an end to executions in the United States.
To date, he has not taken action on this issue and has not granted pardon to any prisoner sentenced to death.
The president’s replacement and pardon come a day after Melissa Lucio received a postponement of the execution by the Texas Criminal Court of Appeals.
As Lucio was sentenced to death for the state of Texas, her request for pardon was sent to the Texas Pardon and Parole Board and to Governor Greg Abbott.
After the appellate court ruled a postponement, the early release commission said it would not grant pardon.
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 3:00 p.m.
1650979839
Melissa Lucio thanked the supporters during the press conference
Melissa Lucio thanked all the supporters who united behind her in her fight for her life during a press conference on Tuesday night.
Lucio’s sons John Lucio and Bobby Alvarez and other supporters held a briefing in Gatesville, Texas, after the announcement that she had received a postponement of the execution.
Her sons called their mother, who remains on death row as the trial continues, and picked up the phone to talk to the crowd.
“I just want to thank everyone who supported me and gave me love,” she said.
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 2:30 p.m.
1650978039
Editor: Why is it out of time for the United States to end the death penalty?
Justice and fairness are two values that run through the heart of America – or at least when it comes to how it is perceived in the world.
The Covid-19 pandemic and the racial justice protests that rocked the nation last year after the assassination of George Floyd underscored the fact that America is still a nation torn by inequality.
Not alone in this regard, countries around the world – including the United Kingdom – are still facing major issues on the same issues.
But this is a problem that the United States is virtually alone in the Western world, the use of the death penalty – which is still legal in 27 states.
Read The Independent’s editorial on why it’s not time for the United States to end the death penalty and why it’s adding its voice to a campaign backed by Cheryl Sandberg and Sir Richard Branson:
Rachel Sharp April 26, 2022 2:00 p.m.
1650976577
Melissa Lucio’s family will now spend Tuesday celebrating with her mother on her last full day
The relieved members of Melissa Lucio’s family will now spend Tuesday celebrating with the 53-year-old woman what they thought would be her last day alive.
Lucio’s son John Lucio told The Independent that he and some of her other children were visiting their mother at the Gatesville, Texas jail on Tuesday.
The day would mark their last full day together before her execution, which was …
Add Comment