An Innocence Project petition calling for a stop to Lucio's execution has surpassed its goal, having received over 185,000 signatures. She claims bruises found on Mariahs body were consistent with rings her mother would wear. var jsTikTok = document.createElement('script'); The hourslong interrogation ended with Lucio being coerced into confessing, her legal team has said, arguing that her past experiences with physical abuse and sexual assault made her susceptible to taking responsibility for her daughter's death even though, they said, she was innocent. Ms. Lucio is a survivor of life-long, repeated sexual assault and domestic violence. However, the full court in 2021 said the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons, "despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucio's confession.". The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . In shock and grieving the loss of her baby. She said that her boyfriend was often violent and used drugs and alcohol. Later on, Lucio had seven children with Robert Alvarez. Yara Shahidi children: Does Yara Shahidi have children? At the time, Mr. Villalobos was seeking re-election, and came under fire for failing to thoroughly investigate or prosecute more than 100 previous allegations of child abuse. Melissa Lucio was born in Lubbock, Texas,[2] on June 18, 1969, according to court records. Officers used powerfully manipulative techniques many of which rise to the level of risk factors for false confession to coerce Ms. Lucio to incriminate herself. I was wrong", "I am sending a letter to Governor @GregAbbot_Tx", "Texas death row prisoner Melissa Lucio granted stay of execution", "Hulu Acquires U.S. Rights to Tribeca Documentary, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Melissa_Lucio&oldid=1139933110, Articles with failed verification from December 2022, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 17 February 2023, at 16:02. jsTikTok.type = 'text/javascript'; Many family members and supporters say the girl's . Following Mariah's death, Lucio was arrested and questioned for seven hours by Texas Ranger Victor Escalon without a lawyer present, and without receiving food or water. "Lucio still advances no evidence that is reliable and supportive of her acquittal," the office wrote in court documents last month. 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. According to Selina, the documentary mischaracterizes the accusations against Lucio and adds to the belief that Lucio is innocent. Please avoid sharing any personal information in the comments below and join us in making this a hate-speech free and safe space for everyone. Mariah fell down a flight of stairs while the family was moving homes on Feb. 15, 2007. Hours after Melissa Lucio's 2-year-old daughter died in 2007, Texas Rangers took Lucio to an interrogation room where they yelled at her, threatened her and showed her pictures of her dead child, her attorneys said. Lucio, who is an inmate on Texas death row, is set to be executed on Apr. Lucio claims that starting when she was seven years old, her mothers boyfriend sexually abused her for approximately two years. Melissa , a documentary set to be released in 2020, is based on her case. Her lawyers say Lucio's sentence was disproportionate to what her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, received. 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. [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]. Lucio's case was the subject of a 2020 documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa. [4], Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. "There are already police departments around the world who have this more investigatory, fact-finding model," Guarnera said. This is an incredibly serious allegation that must be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in order to ensure justice for a young girl whose life has already been so drastically impacted by such trauma. "Please allow us to reconcile with Mariah's death and remember her without fresh pain, anguish and grief. And that's as much as people want to know," he said. 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. According to Bonowitz, factors like ableism and racial and socioeconomic bias in the criminal justice system pose too much of a threat to warrant the use of the death penalty. ", The investigator went on to say that he knew Lucio wanted to confess "because she's giving that slouched appearance.". Her supporters say she was . At Ms. Lucios trial, the medical examiner testified that the bruises and injuries on Mariahs body could only have been caused by abuse. Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. Nearly 15 years later, Lucio, 53, remains on death row at Mountain View Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas. 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. After the trial, in which the prosecution said that her daughter's injuries could have only been caused by abuse, Lucio was found guilty of capital murder and sentenced to death. Alexander Molony Siblings: Who Are Alexander Molony Siblings? [22], In April 2022, a juror on the trial, Johnny Galvan Jr., wrote in the Houston Chronicle that he had wrongly succumbed to peer pressure during deliberations and had changed his vote from a life sentence to the death penalty. The Cameron County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Lucio, declined to comment. A juror from the trial has since expressed concerns and regret over the verdict, according to the Innocence Project. Eighty-three Texas representatives signed a letter asking that she be granted clemency. 11 Strict Rules That Elon Musk Makes His Girlfriends & Wives Follow, Justin Bieber Suspected As The Father Of Kourtney Kardashian's Son Reign (Instead Of Scott Disick), Why Kate Moss Was 'Scared' & 'Couldn't Get Out Of Bed For Weeks' After Working With Mark Wahlberg. "The ask is very specific. The application also states that the state medical examiner who performed Mariah's autopsy was told that Lucio admitted to abusing the girl and was accompanied by two of the interrogating officers during the autopsy. I'm responsible. Lucio was convicted for the death of her daughter Mariah Alvarez. Lucio's lawyers say the evidence shows it was a tragic accident. Selina recalls her mother excluding Mariah, keeping her separate from her other children on a number of occasions. Lucio's legal team submitted an application for clemency to Texas Gov. Her execution is set to take place on April 27. jsTikTok.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? The model was developed with the help of psychologists and takes a nonconfrontational approach to interrogations. Her young daughter Mariah died and had many injuries like bruises on her head kidneys lungs spinal cord and other places. The jury was deprived of key evidence to weigh: that is the point.. "My mother is an innocent woman. She is scheduled to be executed by. [21] Lucio subsequently petitioned for clemency. In this undated photograph, Melissa Lucio holds one of her sons, John. 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. under such coercive conditions. As a result, she suffers from post-traumatic stress disorder and dissociation, according to her legal team. We're asking the governor and Board of Pardons and Paroles and the district attorney, which are the three [political] entities that can do something about this, to watch the filmbecause we believe anybody that watches this film will come away at least with doubt if not being convinced of Melissa's innocence," Bonowitz said. I am now convinced that the jury got it wrong and I know that there is too much doubt to execute Lucio. In the documentary, Alexandra does not recall these alleged confessions. Police contaminate the persons statement meaning they feed the innocent person crime facts or a specific narrative of guilt. On February 17 2007 paramedics came to the Lucio home because two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and didnt respond. "I think there's this thought or belief that if we give up the accusatory, guilt-presumptive, coercive style of American interrogations, it'll have bad consequences and we won't be able to convict people," she said. Lucio told police Mariah fell asleep and did not wake up. On February 17, 2007, paramedics were called to the Lucio residence because two-year-old Mariah was unresponsive and not breathing. 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. ", "Texas mother is set for execution as evidence suggests she did not kill her child", "I voted to sentence Melissa Lucio to death. In the similar case of Manuel Velez, a man who was initially convicted for murdering a one-year-old baby and whose death sentence was overturned after further investigation, Farley's conclusions had also been contradicted by other medical experts. "Our campaign is called Free Melissa Lucio because we don't want to just save her, we want her out," Bonowitz said. All Rights Reserved. Lucy Guarnera, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia who studies false confessions, said law enforcement often uses "behavioral lie detection" techniques that look at a person's actions to predetermine innocence or guilt. Instead of taking the steps to learn about Mariahs health history and investigating the causes of her injuries, authorities immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had been murdered and, through a coercive interrogation, pressured Ms. Lucio to make a false statement. 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