Melissa Lucio

{{Short description|American convicted murderer (born 1969)}} {{Infobox criminal | honorific_prefix = | name = Melissa Elizabeth Lucio | honorific_suffix = | native_name = | native_name_lang = | image = | image_upright = | image_size = | alt = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1969|06|18|mf=yes}} | birth_place = Lubbock, Texas, U.S. | nationality =  | other_names = | citizenship = Texas resident | education = | alma_mater = | occupation = | years_active = | employer = | organization = | agent = | known_for = | notable_works = | style = | net_worth = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | movement = | opponents = | boards = | conviction_penalty = Death (stay of execution issued on April 25, 2022) | conviction_status = On death row | spouse = Robert Antonio Alvarez | children =  | parents =  | relatives = | callsign = | awards = | website = | motive = | conviction = Capital murder | trial =  | trial_start = | trial_end = | comments = | victims = | date = | time = | beginyear = | endyear = | country = | states = | locations = | targets = | fatalities = | injuries = | weapons = | apprehended = | imprisoned = | module = | signature = | signature_size = | signature_alt = | footnotes = }}

'''Melissa Elizabeth Lucio''' (born June 18, 1969) is an American woman who was convicted of capital murder after the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who was found to have scattered bruising in various stages of healing, as well as injuries to her head and contusions of the kidneys, lungs and spinal cord. Prosecutors said that Mariah's injuries were the result of physical abuse, while Lucio's attorneys say that her death was caused by a fall down the stairs two days prior. Lucio is the first woman of Latino descent to be sentenced to death in the U.S. state of Texas.

Lucio's case was the subject of a 2020 documentary, ''The State of Texas vs. Melissa''. She has maintained her innocence, and Cornell Law School professor Sandra Babcock has called the prosecution "by far the weakest capital case I've ever seen."<ref name="intercept">{{cite web|url=https://theintercept.com/2022/03/05/melissa-lucio-texas-death-penalty/|title=Rush to Judgement|first1=Liliana|last1=Segura|first2=Jordan|last2=Smith|publisher=The Intercept|date=2022-03-05|accessdate=2022-03-08}}</ref> Lucio's execution was set for April 27, 2022, but an appeals court granted her a stay on April 25, 2022.

==Early life== Melissa Lucio was born in Lubbock, Texas,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-04-27 |title=Death Row Information |url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/luciomelissa.html |website=Texas Department of Criminal Justice}}</ref> on June 18, 1969, according to court records. Her father died when she was an infant, and the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where her mother had grown up, when she was a toddler.<ref name="Clark">{{cite web |last1=Clark |first1=James |title=Woman with Lubbock ties to be executed, many take up the cause to stop it |url=https://www.everythinglubbock.com/news/local-news/woman-with-lubbock-ties-to-be-executed-many-take-up-the-cause-to-stop-it/ |website=EverythingLubbock.com |date=April 22, 2022}}</ref> Lucio says she was sexually abused by her mother's boyfriend for about two years, beginning when she was seven years old. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and had her first five children with Guadalupe Lucio. She stated that he was often addicted to drugs and alcohol and was physically abusive. Lucio then had seven children with Robert Alvarez. Two more children (twins) were born while she was imprisoned.<ref name=NPR/>

==Death of Mariah Alvarez== Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. 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. Lucio was addicted to cocaine and tested positive shortly after Mariah was born; this prompted authorities to place her children in foster care. Three older children went to live in Houston with their father, and Lucio regained custody of the others in late 2006.<ref name="Segura">{{cite web |last1=Segura |first1=Liliana |last2=Smith |first2=Jordan |title=Is Texas Sending Melissa Lucio to Die for a Crime That Never Happened? |url=https://theintercept.com/2022/03/05/melissa-lucio-texas-death-penalty/ |website=The Intercept |access-date=April 23, 2022 |date=March 5, 2022}}</ref>

On February 17, 2007, paramedics were called to the Lucio residence because two-year-old Mariah was unresponsive and not breathing. The child was pronounced dead at a local hospital. According to the Cameron County District Attorney's Office, Mariah was found in her home with signs of abuse on her body, including marks on her back, missing patches of hair, and a fracture in her arm.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Iati |first=Marisa |date=2022-02-10 |title=Her execution date looming, a mother maintains innocence in 2-year-old daughter's death |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2022/02/10/melissa-lucio-death-row/ |newspaper=The Washington Post}}</ref> According to Lucio, Mariah had sustained the injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs two days earlier. It was later determined that Mariah's arm had been broken two to seven weeks before her death, and an autopsy also showed a head injury and bruising of the kidneys, lungs and spinal cord.<ref name="RGV">{{cite web |last1=Martinez |first1=Laura B. |title=Execution date set for Harlingen mom for murdering daughter |url=https://myrgv.com/local-news/2022/01/14/execution-date-set-for-harlingen-mom-for-murdering-daughter/ |website=MyRGV.com |date=January 14, 2022}}</ref>

=== Interrogations === 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.<ref>{{Cite web |title='I saw her fall': Video is death row mum's last hope |url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/melissa-lucio-mother-of-14-facing-execution-wants-everyone-to-watch-interrogation-video/KVR53N4HOL2BV4M4C5V37L5PI4/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=The New Zealand Herald |language=en-NZ}}</ref> She admitted to having spanked Mariah, but denied ever having abused her, which she repeated more than 100 times.<ref name="O'Connell">{{cite news |last1=O'Connell |first1=Oliver |title=Melissa Lucio execution - latest: Kim Kardashian appeals to Texas governor as juror says death sentence wrong |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/melissa-lucio-news-documentary-execution-save-b2051318.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |publisher=Independent |date=April 5, 2022}}</ref> She was then told by Escalon: "Right now, it looks like you're a cold-blooded killer. Now, are you a cold-blooded killer or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on [Mariah]?" He continued by telling her, "We already know what happened." After several hours of interrogation, Lucio stated, "I guess I did it. I'm responsible."<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last1=Hamalienko |first1=Simon |last2=Hanlon |first2=Tim |date=2022-02-19 |title=Death row mum-of-14 hopes new videos could clear her of toddler's fatal fall |url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/us-news/death-row-mum-14-hopes-26274345 |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=Daily Mirror |language=en}}</ref> Melissa confessed afterwards to biting and beating Mariah in the past as well as pinching Mariah's genitals, but denied causing the fatal head injury.<ref>{{Cite web| title=Melissa Elizabeth Lucio, Petitioner v. Bobby Lumpkin , director, Texas department of criminal justice , Correctional Institutions Division | url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-5095/192260/20210913135502058_21-5095%20Brief%20in%20Opposition.pdf | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220225005918/https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/21/21-5095/192260/20210913135502058_21-5095%20Brief%20in%20Opposition.pdf | archive-date=2022-02-25}}</ref> This confession has later been supported by accounts given by Mariah's siblings who reported seeing their mother often pinching and hitting Mariah.

One of Lucio's sons was also questioned by law enforcement shortly after Mariah's death. 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?" The boy then responded, "No, I saw her fall."<ref name=":2" />

== Legal proceedings == During the trial, Lucio's recorded statements from her interrogation were described as a confession by Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was seeking re-election at the time.<ref>{{Cite web | url = https://msmagazine.com/2022/03/15/melissa-lucio-texas-death-penalty | title = Texas Set to Execute Melissa Lucio Despite Credible Claims of Innocence | access-date = March 25, 2022 | author = Michelle Onello | date = March 15, 2022 | work = Ms. Magazine | quote = Lucio, a survivor of decades of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) by family members and two husbands, offered her statements to end hours of harsh interrogation by investigators, which is a common response for SGBV survivors.}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | url = https://www.justice.gov/usao-wdtx/pr/former-cameron-county-district-attorney-armando-villalobos-sentenced-federal-prison | title = Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos Sentenced To Federal Prison In Connection With South Texas Bribery Scheme | access-date = March 25, 2022 | author = United States Department of Justice, U.S. Attorney’s Office, Western District of Texas | date = February 11, 2014 | quote = In Brownsville today, former Cameron County District Attorney Armando R. Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison for his role in a South Texas bribery and extortion scheme announced United States Attorney Robert Pitman.}}</ref> A pathologist, Dr. Norma J. Farley, testified that the child’s autopsy indicated that she did not die from falling down stairs, but instead her injuries were consistent with a death from blunt force trauma. Additionally, court documents stated that the emergency room physician said he had not seen a case of child abuse worse than Mariah's.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2022-01-15 |title=Harlingen woman faces April execution for daughter's 2007 murder |url=https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/harlingen-woman-faces-april-execution-for-daughters-2007-murder/ |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=KVEO-TV |language=en-US}}</ref>

Lucio’s defense argued that Mariah's injuries were from falling down the stairs, and that Lucio's psychological functioning contributed to her conflicting reports given to authorities. Lucio's lawyer did not dispute that she was guilty of abusing her daughter, only the prosecution's claim that Lucio had murdered her:<blockquote>"Now, in the opening remarks that we made in the beginning of the trial after you were all seated here, I told you my client is not up for 'Mother Of The Year.' I told you that my client is guilty of injury to a child. She is and she has admitted that. The question here before you is whether or not on February 17, 2007, Melissa Lucio intentionally and knowingly killed Mariah Alvarez. That's the issue. That's the issue. Not whether she beat her. Not whether she broke her arm. Not whether she's a lousy mother or didn't provide for her children. That's not an issue. The issue is whether or not she killed Mariah on the 17th of February, 2007."<ref>{{Cite web |date=2011 |title=MELISSA ELIZABETH LUCIO v. THE STATE OF TEXAS (concurring) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2011/21496.html |website=Justia Law}}</ref></blockquote>Her defense was rejected and she was found guilty of capital murder and was sentenced to death in 2008.<ref name=":1" />

=== Post-conviction === Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time of Mariah's death, and authorities compelled her to place them for adoption after delivering them while in jail.<ref name="NPR">{{cite web |last1=Wamsley |first1=Laurel |title=Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed for a crime that may not have occurred |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/22/1094156659/melissa-lucio-execution-texas |website=NPR |date=April 22, 2022}}</ref> As of 2022, Lucio is incarcerated on death row<ref name="Lucio death row">{{cite web |title=Death Row Information [Melissa Lucio] |publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/luciomelissa.html |access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> at the Patrick O'Daniel Unit in Gatesville, Texas.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_facts.html|title=Death Row Information|publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice|accessdate=2022-04-22}}</ref>

A 2011 appeal against the conviction was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.<ref>{{cite web |title=Melissa Elizabeth Lucio v. The State of Texas (concurring) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2011/21496.html |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref> In 2019, a three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial because of the trial court's interference in Lucio's right to present a defense.<ref>{{cite web |title=Federal Appeals Court Overturns Mother's Conviction in Texas Child Murder Case That May Have Been an Accidental Death |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/federal-appeals-court-overturns-mothers-conviction-in-texas-child-murder-case-that-may-have-been-an-accidental-death |website=Death Penalty Information Center}}</ref> This decision was subsequently overturned in an ''en banc'' hearing of the same court<ref>{{cite news |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/divided-federal-appeals-court-reinstates-death-sentence-for-texas-mother-of-child-who-may-have-died-in-accidental-fall |title=Divided Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Death Sentence for Texas Mother of Child Who May Have Died in Accidental Fall |date=February 17, 2021 |work=Death Penalty Information Center |access-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref> and Lucio remained on death row.<ref name="Lucio death row"/>

Forensic pathologist Dr. Thomas Young, the former chief medical examiner in Kansas City, Missouri, reviewed the case at the request of Lucio's post-conviction attorney. He concluded that Dr. Farley appeared to have jumped to wrong conclusions. 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.<ref name=intercept /><ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.aclu.org/sites/default/files/field_document/20130402105827358.pdf | title = Court Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law: Manuel Velez | pages = 13–20 | accessdate = 18 April 2022}}</ref>

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. The brief states that Lucio's subdued behavior and acquiescence during interrogation were the result of prior trauma as a survivor of abuse. 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."<ref name="Observer">{{cite web |last1=Olsen |first1=Lise |title=A Texas mother could be executed in April. Was her child's death really a murder? |url=https://www.texasobserver.org/a-texas-mother-could-be-executed-in-april-was-her-childs-death-really-a-murder/ |website=The Texas Observer |date=January 25, 2022}}</ref>

In January 2022, Cameron County officials signed an execution warrant for Lucio. She was scheduled for execution on April 27, 2022.<ref>{{cite news|last=Puente|first=Nathaniel|date=January 14, 2022|title=Harlingen woman faces April execution for daughter's 2007 murder|work=KVEO-TV|url=https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/harlingen-woman-faces-april-execution-for-daughters-2007-murder/|access-date=January 15, 2022}}</ref> She subsequently petitioned for clemency. If a majority of the Board of Pardons and Paroles were to recommend it, Governor Greg Abbott could grant clemency. The parole board was scheduled to vote on Lucio's clemency petition two days before the execution. In a March 2022 letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles, and to Governor Abbott, eighty-three members of the Texas House of Representatives, including both Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter stating that executing Lucio would be "a miscarriage of justice."<ref name="guardian-21apr2022">{{cite news |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |title=Texas mother is set for execution as evidence suggests she did not kill her child |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/21/texas-woman-death-row-melissa-lucio |access-date=April 21, 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=April 21, 2022}}</ref>

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.<ref name="O'Connell"/><ref name="Galvan">{{cite news |last1=Galvan Jr. |first1=Johnny |title=I voted to sentence Melissa Lucio to death. I was wrong. |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/opinion/outlook/article/Opinion-I-voted-to-sentence-Melissa-Lucio-to-17051437.php |access-date=5 April 2022 |publisher=Houston Chronicle |date=April 3, 2022}}</ref> 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."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Moctezuma |first1=Estevan |title= I am sending a letter to Governor @GregAbbot_Tx |url=https://twitter.com/emoctezumab/status/1517307637616062464 |access-date=22 April 2022 |date=April 22, 2022}}</ref>

On April 25, 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence of Lucio's innocence in the death of her daughter.<ref name="guardian-25apr2022">{{cite news |last1=Pilkington |first1=Ed |title=Texas death row prisoner Melissa Lucio granted stay of execution |url=https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2022/apr/25/melissa-lucio-stay-of-execution-texas |access-date=April 25, 2022 |work=The Guardian |date=April 25, 2022}}</ref>

During the subsequent hearings, the District Attorney's office admitted that exculpatory evidence was withheld at trial, and both sides requested that the court overturn Lucio's conviction.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://theintercept.com/2024/04/22/melissa-lucio-texas-death-penalty-conviction/|title=A Prosecutor Asked Texas To Kill Melissa Lucio. Now He Says She Should Be Freed|newspaper=The Intercept|date=22 April 2024|first1=Liliana|first2=Jordan|last1=Segura|last2=Smith}}</ref> In April 2024, District Judge Arturo Nelson, the same judge who had presided over Lucio's original trial, recommended that she be given a new trial.<ref>{{cite news|url= https://www.texastribune.org/2024/04/15/melissa-lucio-death-penalty-judge-overturn/|title=State district judge recommends overturning Melissa Lucio's death sentence|newspaper=The Texas Tribune|date=15 April 2024|first=William|last=Melhado}}</ref> The case was then sent back to the Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) for a final decision. As of April 2026, it has been 2 years since the district judge's recommendation was sent to the CCA, and a ruling has yet to be issued.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Runnels |first=Ayden |date=2026-04-24 |title=Melissa Lucio marks second year waiting for ruling on conviction |url=https://www.texastribune.org/2026/04/24/melissa-lucio-capital-murder-conviction-court-status/ |access-date=2026-04-24 |website=The Texas Tribune |language=en-US}}</ref>

==In popular culture== A 2020 documentary by Sabrina Van Tassel titled ''The State of Texas vs. Melissa'' follows Lucio's case. It played at the Tribeca Film Festival in 2020, and won best documentary at the Raindance Film Festival.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://variety.com/2021/digital/global/hulu-state-of-texas-vs-melissa-tribeca-documentary-1234952077/ |newspaper=Variety |accessdate=April 16, 2021 |date=April 15, 2021 |title=Hulu Acquires U.S. Rights to Tribeca Documentary ''The State of Texas vs. Melissa'' |first=Elsa |last=Keslassy}}</ref>

On March 6, 2022, in the main segment of an episode of the HBO show ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' called "Wrongful Convictions," her case was the main one to be mentioned as a reason for the reform of the American justice system and specifically, the abolition of the Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996 (AEDPA).<ref>{{cite episode |date=March 7, 2022 |title=Wrongful Convictions |series=Last Week Tonight with John Oliver |station=HBO |medium=Cable TV |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kpYYdCzTpps |access-date=March 7, 2022 |time=14 min. |via=YouTube}}</ref> On April 17, 2022, in the main segment of another episode, called "Police Interrogations," the show mentioned Lucio's case again as having every hallmark of a false confession.<ref>{{Cite AV media |title=Police Interrogations: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obCNQ0xksZ4 |language=en |access-date=2022-04-19}}</ref>

==References== {{reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lucio, Melissa}} Category:1968 births Category:American murderers of children Category:American people convicted of murder Category:American prisoners sentenced to death Category:Child filicides in the United States Category:Perpetrators of filicide Category:Criminals from Texas Category:Filicides in Texas Category:Living people Category:People convicted of murder by Texas Category:Prisoners sentenced to death by Texas Category:People from Lubbock, Texas Category:Women sentenced to death Category:Hispanic and Latino American women