Texas Woman On Death Row: Is Melissa Lucio Innocent?

Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman on death row, has supporters rallying in 16 cities across the country ahead of a clemency hearing later today.

Since her trial in 2007 for the death of her two-year-old daughter, the 53-year-old domestic violence victim and mother of 14 has been on death row. Governor Greg Abbot is facing mounting pressure to grant clemency to Lucio, who is scheduled to be executed later this month.

On Monday, the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles will hear her case, which could determine Lucio’s fate. If she is sentenced to death, she will be the first Latina to be executed in Texas, as well as the first woman since 2014.

Her lawyers claim that after hours of intense police questioning, she “falsely” admitted to killing her daughter Mariah and that the two-year-old died as a result of falling down a steep staircase outside their Harlingen apartment.

Her family maintains her innocence and has worked tirelessly to have her released from prison. Five of the 12 jurors in the case have asked for her release. Melissa’s eldest son, John Lucio, told Latino USA at a protest outside the Cameron County Courthouse in February 2022, “She is an innocent woman.”