Melissa Lucio is likely innocent, but Texas plans to execute her on April 27 anyway.
There’s a real risk that Texas might execute an innocent person next month.
Melissa Lucio was tried, convicted, and, in 2008, sentenced to death for a crime that likely never happened. Now, a broad coalition of organizations and experts are calling on Texas to stop her execution and review her innocence claims.
When Melissa was moving her family into a new apartment in 2007, her daughter Mariah fell down a steep set of exterior stairs. Although her injuries did not appear life-threatening, two days later Mariah went to sleep for a nap and never woke up.
The same day that her daughter died, the Texas Rangers interrogated Melissa for five straight hours until three in the morning. She was pregnant with twins, sleep-deprived, and isolated — on top of being in shock because of her daughter’s death. In other words, Melissa was susceptible to the coercive interrogation tactics being used against her — which have proven to regularly produce false confessions. Part of the aggressive and psychologically manipulative interrogation can be seen in a recent episode of John Oliver’s Last Week Tonight, in which he shines a spotlight on wrongful convictions.
Melissa’s case is another example of a person who was ignored and mistreated by systems that are supposed to help people — the police, public welfare, housing, child welfare, victim services, and more. She experienced decades of sexual and physical assault from male figures in her life, from her uncle and stepfather to her husband. Her requests for help fell on deaf ears. But then something absolutely horrible happened to her.
Texas chose to execute Melissa and continue pouring resources into a system that doesn’t heal anyone or make communities safer. Those funds could instead have gone towards the systems that might help Melissa and others like her, preventing future tragedy.
Melissa Lucio will be executed on April 27, 2022, unless Cameron County’s new district attorney, the courts, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and Gov. Abbott review Melissa’s innocence claim. Take action with the Innocence Project to say: Stop the execution of Melissa Lucio.
Melissa’s case highlights just how misguided the death penalty can be. Tell Texas not to make a devastating and irreversible mistake.
