Summary
Judge Arturo C. Nelson, who oversaw Melissa Lucio’s 2008 murder trial, now believes she is “actually innocent” in the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah.
Lucio’s execution was stayed in 2022 after evidence emerged suggesting Mariah’s death resulted from an accidental fall, not abuse.
Nelson ruled that prosecutors illegally suppressed evidence supporting Lucio’s innocence, violating her constitutional rights, and recommended overturning her conviction and death sentence.
The case is now before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to adopt Nelson’s recommendation.
I bet she still gets executed despite the proceeding judge’s opinion. It happened already in Missouri this year. The prosecuting attorney hit a potential juror during the jury selection because he was a young black male. There was contamination of evidence. The governor overturned the previous governors stay of execution. And in the end an innocent man was executed anyway.