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. Texas Innocent Project. 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. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. His father, who survived, led the effort to save Whitaker, saying he would be victimized again if his son was executed. "Mariah's death was a tragedy not a murder. 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. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. "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. I believe that she should be in prison. You know? She is now fighting to stop her April 27 execution. "You can see this in Melissa Lucio's case. Was her child's death really a murder? "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 State presented no physical evidence or witness testimony establishing that Lucio abused Mariah or any of her children, let alone killed Mariah, Judge Catharina Haynes wrote on behalf of the seven dissenting judges from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit in response to the States scheduling of Lucios execution on April 27, 2022. These conditions led her to be manipulated into admitting she caused her daughter's death despite Lucio asserting her innocence over 100 times throughout the interrogation, according to her lawyers. Lucio is now fighting to stop her April 27 execution date. She died two days later. Shes guilty of abusing my sister which led to the death of my sister. The project's petition, asking Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz to rescind the execution, has received over 44,000 signatures. var isYTTikTok = 1; An Innocence Project petition calling for a stop to Lucio's execution has surpassed its goal, having received over 185,000 signatures. 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. Lucio told police Mariah fell asleep and did not wake up. [27] On April 17, 2022, in the main segment of another episode, called "Police Interrogations", Lucio's case was mentioned again as having every hallmark of a false confession.[28]. Many people accept that Lucio's case is a reasonable case of treason, while others accept that she deserved the sanctions. Lucio says she regrets the confession and her advocates suggest that. After several hours of interrogation, Lucio stated, "I guess I did it. Melissa Lucio holds her daughter Mariah. Bite mark analysis has been wholly discredited since Ms. Lucios trial because it has no scientific basis. Mechanic agreed, describing dissociation as a coping mechanism. The autopsy also revealed that Mariah had suffered a head injury and bruises on her kidneys, lungs, and spinal cord. IE 11 is not supported. Eighty-three Texas representatives signed a letter asking that she be granted clemency. Lucio had been sexually assaulted multiple times, starting at age 6, and had been physically and emotionally abused by two husbands. He got a four-year sentence for causing injury to a child by omission even though he also was responsible for Mariah's care, Lucio's lawyers argue. He concluded that Dr. Farley appeared to have jumped to wrong conclusions. Mariah was the twelfth child of Lucio. In this undated photograph, Melissa Lucio holds one of her sons, John. Without that context, the jury was undoubtedly swayed by Ms. Lucios statement and the Texas Rangers testimony about her demeanor during the interrogation. Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas after she confessed to beating her 2-year-old daughter, who later died. Attempts to reach Crain were unsuccessful. The toddler had a mild physical disability that made her unstable while walking and prone to tripping. Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP. window.addEventListener('scroll', function() { It was later discovered that Mariahs arm had been broken two to seven weeks prior to her passing away. He also stated that Lucio's execution would be a terrible tragedy. Ms. Lucios execution for April 27, for a crime that never occurred. "You're not making this firm division between a victim and suspect because a lot of times you don't know at the beginning who's a victim and who's a suspect.". Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy Melissa Lucio is the first Hispanic woman to receive a death sentence in the state of Texas. [11][12] A pathologist, Dr. Norma J. Farley, testified that the childs autopsy indicated that she did not die from falling down stairs, and instead her injuries were consistent with a death from blunt force trauma. As noted in the appeals court opinion document, one of the investigators described Lucio's behavior. 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 was convicted of killing her daughter, Mariah Alvarez, 15 years ago in . In a now-deleted tweet, Kardashian described the crime as a tragic accident. However, some of Lucios children have spoken out, insisting that their mother is guilty. According to Dr. Young, Melissa Lucio should not be executed because he believes she is innocent. After nearly 15 years on death row in Texas, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled . 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. You can learn more about how we consider cases here. The tragic incident that took away a young life happened in her own house. Lucio, 53, was convicted in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. After Mariah was born authorities found out that Lucio had taken cocaine. She was just struggling. "Our campaign is called Free Melissa Lucio because we don't want to just save her, we want her out," Bonowitz said. So you respond to threats, you respond to violence, you respond to demands, you respond to the escalating voice by saying, 'Yes, yes, I'll do it,'" said Mindy Mechanic, a forensic psychologist and professor emeritus at California State University, Fullerton. 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.. My moms sisters said that she would get a lesser sentence if we said we abused my sister, Selina adds. It's like Cameron County prosecutor Alfredo Padilla said "the decision was based on evidence and evidence alone". The photos current inside and out . They say he didnt take his daughter to the doctor when she needed it. Ms. Lucio, who was given the death penalty, is filing an appeal. Neave Criado who visited Melissa Lucio on death row earlier this week spoke at the conference about the bipartisan support her case has received. [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). Melissa , a documentary set to be released in 2020, is based on her case. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy. 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? Alexander Molony Girlfriend: Who Is Alexander Molony Girlfriend? The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . Lucio, who is an inmate on Texas death row, is set to be executed on Apr. Keep up with her Twitter for more. "Her autopsy revealed bruised kidneys, a bruised spinal cord and bruised lungs," the D.A. It played at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020, and won best documentary at the Raindance Film Festival. 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. A psychologist who reviewed recent testing of Melissa said that Melissa has highly abnormal levels of vulnerability to police coercion because of her background. The Rangers believed Lucio had killed Mariah on Feb. 17, 2007, saying that her unwillingness to make eye contact and her slumped shoulders were signs of guilt, according to a clemency petition filed on March 22. Website by MADEO. 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 it was the result of an intentional act or abuse This was an extremely common type of injury among toddlers that can result from a fall from standing height. Her execution is set to take place on April 27. He then told Lucio that he would "help" her if she told him what he already knew. Andy Griffiths, a former senior investigating officer with the U.K. police, wrote in a 2012 article that the Peace model trains officers to focus on "probing a suspect's account" instead of trying to force a confession. The interrogating officers refused to hear the truth: that Melissa did not, and would not, ever hurt her children. Mariahs autopsy showed signs of a blood coagulation disorder, which causes profuse bruising throughout the body. 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. Ms. Lucio struggled at times to provide for her family, but was a caring mother, who did her best given her incredibly difficult circumstances. The brief states that Lucio's subdued behavior and acquiescence during interrogation were the result of prior trauma as a survivor of abuse. 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. Afterward, Lucio had seven kids with Robert Alvarez. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called "capital murder". Selina says that Lucio was, not abusive to all of us. "She was a good mother. On April 12, attorneys for Melissa filed a supplemental clemency application including a new declaration from a fifth juror Melissas jury foreperson who joins the calls of four other jurors and the alternate to halt Melissas pending execution or grant her a new trial where new evidence of her innocence can be considered. Help us advocate for the innocent by sharing the latest news from the Innocence Project. Mariah was crying but did not appear to have any serious injuries, Lucio said. The local hospital declared the child dead. Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. [1] Lucio's execution was set for April 27, 2022, but an appeals court granted her a stay on April 25, 2022. Ms. Lucio received a death penalty sentence and is appealing. "There's so much more to it that happens way before the crime.". 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. Mariah fell down a flight of stairs while the family was moving homes on Feb. 15, 2007. She kind of just regurgitates it back, she says the same thing as they said to her because that's the easiest way out," she explained. I dont want her to be executed, she says. She said she believes she falsely confessed in part because of a learned fear of violence. They found out that Mariahs arm had been broken two to seven weeks before she died. Additionally, court documents state that the emergency room physician said he had not seen a case of child abuse worse than Mariah's. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called capital murder. 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. And that's as much as people want to know," he said. Melissa Lucio was first sentenced to death in 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. [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. The boy then responded: "No, I saw her fall. And experts who have reviewed Ms. Lucios case, including her interrogation records, have concluded that Ms. Lucio was relentlessly pressured and extensively manipulated during the interrogation. Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office reports that Mariah was discovered at the residence with physical evidence of abuse. [6][failed verification] According to Lucio, Mariah had sustained the injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs two days earlier. Despite the defense's arguments, Lucio was found guilty of capital murder and later sentenced to death in 2008. Ms. Lucio had nine more children, including Mariah. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy - Melissa Lucio is the first Hispanic woman to receive a death sentence in the state of Texas. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. RELATED: 5 Death Penalty Facts That Will Make You Want To Abolish It Now. The Innocence Project is affiliated with Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, Yeshiva University. Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez welcomed Mariah into the world in September 2004. 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. 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