Melissa Lucio is Set to be the First Latina Woman Executed in Texas
The execution date of a Texas woman, Melissa Lucio has been set to take place on April 27th, 20022. Lucio has been on death row for the past 15 years after being convicted of capital murder. Lucio was convicted for the death of her toddler daughter which occured back in 2007. It was said that her daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and died two days later while taking a nap. Investigators believed that the bruises found on the little girls body were the result from being abused however new evidence suggests that the blood force trauma and bruises are a result of the fall.
Lawyers for Lucio have argued that the case is full of corruption and all evidence has not been examined. It has been stated the police forced a confession from Melissa while she was pregnant with twins during an interrogation that lasted for hours. Lawyers also stated that the defense attorney appointed to her did a horrible job and has now secured a top job within the DA’s office.
Motions have been filed by lawyers that include a clemency motion that they say contains large amounts of evidence that prove she is innocent. There have been a number of people which include some Texas lawmakers and both forensic and medical experts who have signed the petition urging Governor Abbott to stop the execution. Even more recently, Kim Kardashian spread light on the case and asked her Twitter followers to sign the petition to grant Melissa clemency. The petition even includes statements from five of the jurors who served on the trial and they insists that they would have decided differently if they were presented with all the evidence that is now being brought up. One of those jurors even stated that he was pressured into voting for the death penalty.
If clemency is not granted Melissa would be the first Latina woman ever to be executed in the state of Texas.
0 Comments