Texas Halts Execution of Mom Convicted in Daughter’s Death
The Texas Court of Appeals has granted a stay of execution to Melissa Lucio, the mother accused of killing her infant daughter, while officials examine new evidence that raises questions about her guilt.
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Photo by Enrique Macias via Unsplash
The Texas Court of Appeals has granted a stay of execution to Melissa Lucio, the mother accused of killing her infant daughter, while officials examine new evidence that raises questions about her guilt.
“I thank God for my life,” Lucio said in a statement released by her lawyers, The New York Times reported. “I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always.”
The court’s decision was announced Monday amid a bipartisan appeal from Texas lawmakers, who say she was unjustly accused. Lucio would have been the first Hispanic woman executed in Texas. Supporters have said additional evidence provided since the trial shows the death of her infant daughter Mariah 13 years ago was caused by a fall.
Earlier, five of the 12 jurors who sentenced Lucio to die called for her execution to be halted and for her to get a new trial.
In its three-page decision, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled that a lower court should review some of the claims raised by Lucio’s lawyers. That included claims that false testimony was introduced at the trial and that prosecutors suppressed other evidence that would have been favorable to her. The lawyers also argued that previously unavailable scientific evidence cast further doubt on her guilt.
The execution is now postponed indefinitely, while a trial court takes up the claims.
