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.
Holy fuck, that poor woman… I bet she’d take life in prison if it brought her daughter back. That hurts me to the core.
$10 says most
death penaltystate-sanctioned murder proponents would’ve proposed before 2022 (or even just before this verdict) that she was a clear-cut example of why it’s necessary because what kind of monster would definitely 100% verifiably beat their child to death? Fucking repugnant.It’s Texas, they’ve just been waiting to do it on the right week so they have something to distract from their worse politics
