If I could take back my vote, I would, Johnny Galvan Jr., one of the jurors in Ms. Lucios case, wrote in, An innocent person is misclassified as a guilty suspect, Police coerce an innocent person into falsely incriminating themselves. For an optimal experience visit our site on another browser. In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" Her next partner, who was also abusive, repeatedly raped her, and threatened to kill her. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of losing her daughter Mariah, her lawyers say, the Texas woman finally acquiesced to investigators. Press "Enter" or click on the arrow to show results. Details about what allegedly happened in the interrogation room were also outlined in the clemency petition. The model was developed with the help of psychologists and takes a nonconfrontational approach to interrogations. Mariahs autopsy showed signs of a blood coagulation disorder, which causes profuse bruising throughout the body. She is now fighting to stop her April 27 execution. "[10], One of Lucio's sons was also questioned by law enforcement shortly after Mariah's death. Prosecutors, however, painted a different picture. Mariah fell down a flight of stairs while the family was moving homes on Feb. 15, 2007. Advertisement : [emailprotected] Shes guilty of abusing my sister which led to the death of my sister. 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. A psychologist who reviewed recent testing of Melissa said that Melissa has highly abnormal levels of vulnerability to police coercion because of her background. Lucio then had seven children with Robert Alvarez. The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . Her dad passed away when she was a baby so her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley where her mother grew up when she was still a little kid. During the interrogation, officers berated and intimidated Ms. Lucio, who was pregnant and in shock from the loss of her child, for five hours. The Texas Rangers did not respond to repeated phone calls and emails for comment about the case. The Cameron County District Attorney's Office, which prosecuted Lucio, declined to comment. Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. [9][23] The Mexican Ambassador to the United States, Esteban Moctezuma, announced on April 22 that he sent a letter to Governor Abbott asking him to grant executive clemency to Lucio, as "Mexico has historically manifested an unwavering commitment in its opposition to the death penalty. Though Selina believes her mother is guilty, she does not want her to be killed and says she signed the petition to request clemency for Lucio. 2023 Innocence Project. The only person who abused my sister was my mother, Melissa Lucio, she claims in another video. Her husband later abandoned her and their five children. Greg Abbott and the Board of Pardons and Paroles in March of this year, arguing an unreliable confession and "unscientific, false evidence that misled the jury into believing that Mariah Alvarez must have been killed by physical abuse, when the evidence is actually consistent with a conclusion that Mariah died from medical complications after a fall" based on the declarations of various experts. [4], Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. [1][19], In August 2021, an amicus brief was filed on Lucio's behalf by a group consisting of legal scholars, experts on violence against women, and representatives from sixteen organizations that combat violence against women. 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. Lucio is now fighting to stop her April 27 execution date. [15], A 2011 appeal against the conviction was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. She is scheduled to be executed by. 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. The jury was deprived of key evidence to weigh: that is the point.. But this can be detrimental because "a lot of trauma symptoms look like these behavioral cues of lying," Guarnera said. Selina says that Lucio was, not abusive to all of us. My mother was never the abusing woman -- the monster that the district attorney Armando Villalobos, former district attorney, made it seem like," John Lucio said. Our website services, content and products are not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. 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. He continued by telling her, "We already know what happened". Mariah's mother, Melissa Lucio was convicted of capital murder in this case. Lucio, sentenced to death for killing her daughter, maintains her innocence. 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. "Our campaign is called Free Melissa Lucio because we don't want to just save her, we want her out," Bonowitz said. Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in 2014 for extortion in a case unrelated to Lucio's, described this statement as a confession during the trial. The husband of Melissa Lucio, Roberto Antonio Alvarez, is known to have testified in the case involving the death of his daughter, Mariah Alvarez. The woman, Melissa Lucio, a mother of 14, was found guilty back in 2008 in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. Nearly 15 years later, Lucio, 53, remains on death row at Mountain View Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas. Ms. Lucio had nine more children, including Mariah. Despite the defense's arguments, Lucio was found guilty of capital murder and later sentenced to death in 2008. Paramedics were called to the Lucio home on February 17, 2007, as two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and was unresponsive. Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page. "What victims learn to do in these relationships in order to survive the abuse or violence is they learn to capitulate, they learn to comply, they learn to appease. 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. The medical examiner also testified at trial that a mark on Mariahs body were bite marks. The detectives also handed Lucio a doll and asked her to demonstrate what happened, according to the petition. At 6 years old, she was sexually assaulted by one of her mother's partners, her legal team said in the clemency petition. 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Yara Shahidi children: Does Yara Shahidi have children? were wrongly convicted of harming children or other loved ones in their care and over 70% were wrongly convicted of crimes that never took place at all events that were accidents, deaths by suicide, or fabricated according to data from the, Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. On April 15, Ms. Lucios attorneys filed a habeas petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals seeking a stay of her execution and arguing that she deserves a new trial because she is innocent and the State relied on false evidence,and hid favorable evidence, to convict her. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy Melissa Lucio is the first Hispanic woman to receive a death sentence in the state of Texas. since Ms. Lucios trial because it has no scientific basis. Keller, P.J., joined except for points 4 and 11, in which she concurs. But Ms. Lucios life is still in jeopardy. Mariahs autopsy showed signs of a blood coagulation disorder, which causes profuse bruising throughout the body. The omission of this crucial evidence was particularly damaging because the prosecution had a weak case for capital murder, and an even weaker case for a death sentence. The officers relied on their presumptions about how a mother should act in this tragic scenario and their gut-feeling, without a thorough forensic examination of the evidence to draw an unscientific presumption of guilt, which then created tunnel vision of investigators and the interrogating officers. RELATED: Oklahoma Gov. Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. It's like Cameron County prosecutor Alfredo Padilla said "the decision was based on evidence and evidence alone". In shock and grieving the loss of her baby the youngest of her 12 children at the time Ms. Lucio was taken into police custody and immediately blamed for her daughter's death. The Innocence Project, a criminal justice reform nonprofit that aims to exonerate wrongly convicted persons using DNA and other evidence, joined Lucio's legal team soon after her execution was scheduled in January. 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. 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.". ET:This article has been updated to reflect the latest news in this case. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Whitaker was convicted of masterminding the fatal shootings of his mother and brother. 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. 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. Melissa Lucio has spent the last 15 years on death row after she was convicted of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah. An Innocence Project petition calling for a stop to Lucio's execution has surpassed its goal, having received over 185,000 signatures. So right there and then, I knew she did something," he said. Lucio's lawyers say the evidence shows it was a tragic accident. The Cameron Countys new district attorney, the courts, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, and Gov. On the other hand, her lawyers have been claiming that she was wrongfully convicted of beating her own child. 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. Ms. Lucio had no prior record of violence. She was sexually abused by family members beginning at the age of 6. Nearly all proven false confession cases have the following three things in common: As soon as police officers encountered Ms. Lucio, they misclassified her response to the grief and shock of her daughters death as indicative of guilt. Alice Kelly is a senior news and entertainment editor for YourTango. FilmRise By Maurice Chammah The detective handed Melissa Lucio a plastic doll and asked her to spank it. Guarnera said these are excellent tips to follow, but pointed out that detectives often do the opposite when they believe someone is a suspect and not a victim. Click to reveal Here are 5 things to . Performance & security by Cloudflare. However, pathologists who have reviewed the evidence have concluded that this testimony was false. Lucio, 40, of Harlingen was found guilty of capital murder for the death of her 21/2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Keep up with her Twitter for more. This undated handout photo provided by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice shows Melissa Lucio. Melissa Lucio was found guilty of a very serious crime called capital murder. HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. Courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP, Do Not Sell or Share My Personal Information. "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. Thank you for visiting us. Mariah was crying but did not appear to have any serious injuries, Lucio said. Lucio, 53, would be the first Latina executed by Texas and the first woman since 2014. Child Protective Services had previously investigated Lucio for allegations of child neglect, and they reported that Lucio's youngest children were often left in the care of their teenaged siblings. They found out that Mariahs arm had been broken two to seven weeks before she died. Many people accept that Lucio's case is a reasonable case of treason, while others accept that she deserved the sanctions. Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. The toddler had a mild physical disability that made her unstable while walking and prone to tripping. Ms. Lucio has maintained her innocence on death row for more than 14 years. An appeals court opinion detailed how an investigator said he "knew she did something" because of her demeanor. RELATED: 5 Death Penalty Facts That Will Make You Want To Abolish It Now. 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. Her husband and Mariah's father, Robert Alvarez, was sentenced to four years in prison for child endangerment. As indicated by legal counsel at the Lucio Reassessment Watch group, Melissa is not at fault. "She was a good mother. They look at who's the victim, what's the accused accused of doing? ET:This article has been updated to reflect the latest news in this case. Research has shown that survivors of sexual abuse and violence, like Ms. Lucio, are even more vulnerable to falsely confessing under such coercive conditions. However, the case of Melissa Lucio, who murdered her daughter after years of abuse, has sparked more debate than ever before. tiktokscr.parentNode.insertBefore(jsTikTok, tiktokscr); A woman facing execution in Texas for killing her daughter is seeking clemency, claiming she was coerced into confessing to the crime. Tema, Ghana, Phone: +233 24 137 5919 Lucio claimed Mariah had fallen down a flight of stairs two days prior and suffered the wounds. While she was incarcerated, she gave birth to twins, making four total. She said she believes she falsely confessed in part because of a learned fear of violence. She says she was coerced to confess by a Texas Ranger during her interrogation. He concluded that Dr. Farley appeared to have jumped to wrong conclusions. Lawyers for Lucio deny those claims and say the bruising was a result of the fall. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter but Lucio has long denied that, saying Mariah died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. "We've had her interrogation reviewed by leading experts in interrogation and false confessions. In 2008, Melissa Lucio was sentenced to death in Texas for the murder of her 2-year old daughter Mariah, who died two days after a tragic fall down a flight of stairs. They implied that if she did not confess, she wouldn't be allowed to attend Mariahs funeral. The Cameron County District Attorneys Office said Mariah was found at home with signs of abuse. 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. 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