Melissa Lucio - latest: Family look forward to celebrating Mother’s Day after stay of execution
Follow live updates on Melissa Lucio’s fight for her life
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Your support makes all the difference.The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted Melissa Lucio a stay of execution on Monday and ordered a court to consider new evidence in her case, just 48 hours before she was scheduled to be put to death.
Lucio was told the news in an emotional phone call with Texas Rep Jeff Leach where the Hispanic mother-of-14 sobbed and gasped, asking “are you serious?”
In a statement, the 53-year-old thanked God for saving her life and paid tribute to her late daughter Mariah who “is in my heart today and always”.
Lucio’s attorneys and supporters also celebrated the ruling including Kim Kardashian who called it the “best news ever”.
The last-minute stay came minutes before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was to recommend whether or not Lucio’s death sentence should be commuted to life imprisonment or if she should be granted a 120-day execution reprieve. The parole board said it would not recommend clemency after the stay was announced.
Lucio was sentenced to death for the 2007 murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah.
Her lawyers say she was coerced into a false confession during an aggressive police interrogation and that scientific evidence shows Mariah died from a fall.
‘I thank God for my life’: Melissa Lucio is granted 11th-hour stay of execution by Texas appeals court
‘Melissa’s life matters’: Campaigners react as Texas court pauses Melissa Lucio execution- Emotional moment Melissa Lucio learns she has been granted a stay of execution
Kim Kardashian celebrates Melissa Lucio execution delay: ‘Best news ever’
‘Fighting for momma bear’: Melissa Lucio’s son begs Texas to halt her execution for a crime he knows ‘she couldn’t have done’
Sabrina Butler-Smith escaped execution after she was falsely accused of killing her son. Now, she’s fighting for Melissa Lucio
From Kim Kardashian to Amanda Knox: Famous names who have joined fight for Melissa Lucio and why
Texas board to consider Lucio’s case
The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will considering a request to either commute Melissa Lucio’s death sentence to life imprisonment or to grant her a 120-day execution reprieve. Any decision by the parole board will however need Texas governor Gregg Abbott’s approval. The Republican has only granted clemency to only one death row inmate since taking office in 2015.
Appeals seeking to stop Ms Lucio’s execution – currently scheduled for Wednesday – are pending in state and federal courts also.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
Jurors and prosectors expressed concerns about case
Nearly half of the jurors who sentenced Melissa Lucio to death have since called for her execution to be halted and for a new trial for the 53-year-old.
The prosecutor in the case, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz, also said earlier this month he did not “disagree with all the scrutiny this case is getting. I welcome that”.
During a recent Texas House committee hearing on Ms Lucio‘s case, Mr Saenz had initially pushed back on requests to use his power to stop the execution, before later saying he would intervene if the courts did not act.
Ms Lucio, whose lawyers say evidence shows she did not cause her two-year-old daughter’s death in 2007, is now subject to a clemency hearing on Monday.
Additional reporting by The Associated Press.
EU calls on Texas governor to grant Lucio clemency
The European Union (EU) has called on Texas governor Greg Abbott to reverse his state’s death sentence of Melissa Lucio.
The French ambassador to the US, Philippe Etienne, and the EU’s Ambassador to the US, Stavros Lambrinidis, co-signed a statement on behalf of the EU asking Mr Abbott to grant Lucio clemency.
“As you know, the European Union and its Member States have abolished the use of capital punishment in all circumstances,” the letter states.
“We firmly believe that it is possible to offer staunch support to all victims of abuse and crime as well as their families by rigorously and effectively prosecuting and punishing perpetrators, outside the framework of the death penalty,” it read.
Johanna Chisholm has more.
Europe calls on Texas governor to grant Melissa Lucio clemency as execution looms
The 53-year-old domestic violence victim and mother of 14 has been on death row since her trial over the 2007 death of her two-year-old daughter
Supporters hold 'Free Melissa Lucio' rally
Supporters took out rallies across the United States over the weekend urging Texas governor Greg Abbot to spare the life of Melissa Lucio, who is on death row after being convicted of murdering her two-year-old daughter Mariah in 2007.
During the rallies, organisers attempted to collect signatures for the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Mr Abbott.
Rallies were planned in Houston, Atlanta, Austin and 13 other states. “Melissa was interrogated for almost seven hours, just minutes after being taken in after her daughter’s death,” rally organizer Cody Huffman told KSAT-TV.
“Nothing there proves that she physically did anything to commit the crime that she was convicted of. And, but there is plenty of evidence that shows she is innocent of the crime,” Mr Huffman added.
Melissa Lucio’s son begs Texas to halt her execution
Bobby Alvarez has been running from pillar to post to get authorities in Texas to halt his mother Melissa Lucio’s execution scheduled for 27 April.
Lucio, the only Hispanic woman on death row in Texas, has always maintained that she was wrongly convicted of the 2007 murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah.
“It was very difficult than being put in foster care … you feel so alone and that no one is there for you. I cried every night wanting to be back with her, for my parents to come for us. I knew they weren’t coming but there was always that hope,” he told The Independent.
The 53-year-old mother of 14, along with multiple medical experts not heard at her trial, says that the little girl actually died from injuries caused by an accidental fall down the stairs two days before her death.
Rachel Sharp reports.
Melissa Lucio’s son begs Texas to halt her execution set for next week
EXCLUSIVE: In just six days, Melissa Lucio will be strapped to a gurney and injected with a lethal cocktail of drugs that will kill her for a murder that she not only says she didn’t commit – but that experts say didn’t even occur. Her son Bobby Alvarez tells Rachel Sharp he has never doubted her innocence and has spent the last 15 years just ‘wanting my momma back’
Welcome to The Independent’s coverage of the clemency hearing over Texas mother Melissa Lucio’s impending execution, and the calls from her supporters to spare her life.