Two days before Harlingen mom Melissa Elizabeth Lucio was scheduled to be executed for killing her toddler daughter, Mariah in 2007, she was granted a stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.
A Cameron County jury in 2008 found Lucio guilty on one count of capital murder for causing the death of Mariah Alvarez and sentenced her death. The little girl had been beaten, prosecutors said. Lucio denies killing her daughter.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 25, 2022 issued the stay of execution halting Lucio’s execution and also ordered the 138th state District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence.
Lucio appealed her conviction and for years, her case continued to make its way through the legal system. It regained attention in 2022 following the release of a 2020 documentary “The State of Texas vs. Melissa.’’
The Actionnetwork.org, stated the documentary by Sabrina Van Tassel, outlined alleged missteps that took place in Melissa’s trial.
On the night of Mariah’s death on Feb. 17, 2007, Lucio told police and EMS personnel that Mariah had fallen down some stairs, according to federal court documents.
Later that night, during a videotaped interview with investigators, Lucio explained that she had caused the bruises on Mariah’s body by spanking Mariah “real hard”… and Lucio said “nobody else would hit her.”
During an interview with a Texas Ranger, Lucio later admitted she was responsible for her daughter’s death, prosecutors said. Lucio’s appeal’s attorney says she was coerced to confess.
Bishop Daniel E. Flores, of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville, in a Feb. 22, 2022, statement read in part there are “many circumstances that cast doubt on Melissa Lucio’s conviction for first-degree murder.”
A portion of his statement also reads: “I want to say a word to the people of the Valley about the pending execution. Death is not the answer to death. One tragedy is not somehow made better by killing someone else. Justice is not suddenly restored because another person dies. Executing Melissa will not bring peace to her surviving children, it will only bring more pain and suffering.
“I urge the State of Texas to commute Melissa’s death sentence. Let us not give up on her life.”
As Lucio’s case continued to gain media attention, a bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers in March 2022 held a press conference and handed over a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles requesting they give clemency to Lucio.
State Rep. Lacey Hull, R-Houston, who attended the press conference, said no matter how awful Mariah’s death is “and how we all want justice for Mariah, the facts simply do not support any conclusion that Ms. Lucio committed capital murder and is deserving of the ultimate punishment by the state of Texas.”
Media personality and businesswoman Kim Kardashian also stepped in on behalf of Lucio’s behalf and signed a petition requesting Governor Greg Abbott step in and stop Lucio’s execution.
In an April 2022 Facebook post, Kardashian wrote “It’s stories like Melissa’s that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering.”
Lucio’s defense team in February 2022 tried to get 138th state District Court Judge Gabriela Garcia recused from hearing the case – Garcia signed the warrant setting the execution date – and Cameron County District Attorney Luis V. Saenz because two key members of Lucio’s defense team now work for Saenz and Garcia.
Peter Gilman, Lucio’s defense attorney in her 2008 capital murder trial, is now an assistant district attorney for the Cameron County DA’s office. Irma Gilman, Garcia’s court administrator, also served on Lucio’s 2008 defense team.
In September 2022, visiting Judge Mario Ramirez, of the 332 state District Court in Hidalgo County, denied the motion pertaining to Garcia’s recusal.
In its April 25, 2022 ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals ruled to halt the execution so that a lower court could review four claims from the defendant’s nine assertions:
>> ”But for the State’s use of false testimony, no juror would have convicted her;”
>> ”previously unavailable scientific evidence would preclude her conviction;”
>> ”she is actually innocent;”
>> and “the State suppressed favorable material evidence in violation of Brady v. Maryland”
Court records reflect that no hearing dates have been scheduled in the case.
Lucio remains on death row and is at the Mountainview Unit in Gatesville.
