Texas Appeals Court Rejects Ruling of Innocence for Woman on Death Row for 18 Years
The court said the lower rulings relied too heavily on Lucio’s account, leaving open a possible appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.
- On Thursday, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a lower court's finding that death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent of the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez.
- The majority ruled the lower court relied too heavily on Lucio's interpretation of events rather than the prosecution's case, while rejecting her claims that new scientific evidence established her "actually innocent" status.
- Four judges dissented, with David Newell, Lee Finley, and David Schenck filing written opinions arguing the state conceded prosecutors withheld favorable, material evidence in violation of Brady, warranting a new trial.
- Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project, said the legal team will appeal to federal courts. "We are confident that the courts will clear Melissa Lucio and allow her to return home," Potkin said.
- Having spent 18 years on death row, Lucio narrowly escaped execution in 2022 when the same court ordered a review of her case two days before her scheduled lethal injection.
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Austin, Sep 24 (EFE).- – The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected this Thursday declaring Melissa Lucio, a woman sentenced to death for the murder of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007. The ruling, passed by five votes to four, dismisses the recommendation of a judge who concluded that the [...] The Texas entry refuses to declare Melissa Lucio innocent and maintains his death sentence was first published in HolaNews.
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Texas appeals court rejects ruling of innocence for woman on death row for 18 years
A Texas court on Thursday rejected a ruling that a woman on death row for 18 years is innocent of capital murder in the killing of her 2-year-old daughter in a case that has attracted bipartisan calls from lawmakers and celebrities to release her from prison.
In 2024, a judge recommended that the death penalty for the woman be overturned by questioning the evidence with which she was convicted for the death of her daughter.
Appeals court rejects finding that Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday rejected a lower court’s finding that death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent of the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter. Lucio has spent 18 years on death row, but questions about her possible innocence have focused on whether daughter Mariah Alvarez’s fatal head trauma was caused [...]
Texas court rejects death row inmate Melissa Lucio’s bid for new trial
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has rejected Melissa Lucio’s latest effort to overturn her 2008 conviction and death sentence for the death of her 2-year-old daughter, ruling that she failed to show prosecutors withheld evidence that could have changed the outcome of her trial.
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