EXPLAINER: Concern mounts as execution of Texas mother Melissa Lucio nears

HOUSTON (AP) — Almost half of the jurors who sentenced a Texas girl to die for the 2007 demise of one in all her 14 youngsters have referred to as for her upcoming execution to be halted and for her to get a brand new trial.

Melissa Lucio, 52, is about to be executed Wednesday for the demise of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in Harlingen, a metropolis of about 75,000 in Texas’ southern tip.

Her attorneys say new proof reveals that Mariah’s accidents, together with a blow to the top, had been attributable to a fall down a steep staircase, and lots of lawmakers and celebrities reminiscent of Kim Kardashian, an advocate for felony justice reform, and Amanda Knox — an American who was convicted of murdering a British pupil in Italy and whose conviction was overturned — have rallied to Lucio’s trigger. Prosecutors, although, keep that the lady was the sufferer of kid abuse.

Lucio’s attorneys have filed numerous authorized appeals in search of to cease her execution. She additionally has a clemency software earlier than the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles, which is about to contemplate her case on Monday. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott might additionally play a task in deciding Lucio’s destiny. If put to demise, Lucio could be the primary Latina ever executed by Texas and the primary girl the state has put to demise since 2014.

Right here’s what to know as Lucio’s execution approaches:

WHAT ISSUES ARE BEING DEBATED IN THE CASE?

Lucio’s attorneys say her capital homicide conviction was primarily based on an unreliable and coerced confession that was the results of relentless questioning and her lengthy historical past of sexual, bodily and emotional abuse. They are saying Lucio wasn’t allowed to current proof questioning the validity of her confession.

Her attorneys additionally contend that unscientific and false proof misled jurors into believing Mariah’s accidents solely might have been attributable to bodily abuse and never by medical issues from a extreme fall.

“I knew that what I used to be accused of doing was not true. My youngsters have all the time been my world and though my decisions in life weren’t good I’d have by no means damage any of my youngsters in such a means,” Lucio wrote in a letter to Texas lawmakers.

Cameron County District Legal professional Luis Saenz, whose workplace prosecuted the case, has mentioned he disagrees with Lucio’s attorneys’ claims that new proof would exonerate her. Prosecutors say Lucio had a historical past of drug abuse and at occasions had misplaced custody of a few of her 14 youngsters.

Throughout a generally contentious Texas Home committee listening to on Lucio’s case this month, Saenz initially pushed again on requests to make use of his energy to cease the execution, earlier than later saying he would intervene if the courts didn’t act.

“I don’t disagree with all of the scrutiny this case is getting. I welcome that,” Saenz mentioned.

Armando Villalobos was the county’s district lawyer when Lucio was convicted in 2008, and Lucio’s attorneys allege that he pushed for a conviction to assist his reelection bid. In 2014, Villalobos was sentenced to 13 years in federal jail for a bribery scheme associated to providing favorable prosecutorial selections.

WHO IS CALLING FOR LUCIO’S EXECUTION TO BE STOPPED?

Greater than half the members of the Texas Home and Senate have requested that her execution be halted. A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers traveled this month to Gatesville, the place the state homes feminine demise row inmates, and prayed with Lucio.

5 of the 12 jurors who sentenced Lucio and one alternate juror have questioned their determination and requested she get a brand new trial. And Lucio’s trigger additionally has the backing of religion leaders and was featured on HBO’s “Final Week Tonight with John Oliver.”

Lucio’s household and supporters have been touring all through Texas and holding rallies and screenings of a 2020 documentary about her case, “The State of Texas vs. Melissa.”

WHERE DO EFFORTS TO HALT HER EXECUTION STAND?

Appeals in search of to cease Lucio’s execution are pending in state and federal courts.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles is contemplating a request to both commute her demise sentence to life imprisonment or grant her a 120-day execution reprieve.

Any determination by the parole board to commute her sentence or grant the reprieve would wish Abbott’s approval. The governor, who has granted clemency to solely one demise row inmate since taking workplace in 2015, might additionally unilaterally problem a 30-day execution keep. Abbott commuted a demise sentence to life with out parole for Thomas “Bart” Whitaker, who was convicted of fatally taking pictures his mom and brother. Whitaker’s father was additionally shot however survived and led the hassle to spare his son’s life.

HOW FREQUENTLY ARE WOMEN EXECUTED?

It’s uncommon within the U.S. for a girl to be executed, in line with the Washington-based Dying Penalty Data Heart, a nonprofit that opposes capital punishment. Ladies have accounted for less than 3.6% of the greater than 16,000 confirmed executions within the U.S. relationship again to the colonial interval within the 1600s, in line with the group’s knowledge.

For the reason that U.S. Supreme Court docket reinstated the demise penalty in 1976, there have been 17 girls executed all through the nation, in line with the info. Texas has put extra girls to demise — six — than every other state. Oklahoma is subsequent, with three, and Florida has executed two.

The federal authorities has executed one girl since 1976. Lisa Montgomery, of Kansas, acquired a deadly injection in January 2021 after the Trump administration resumed executions within the federal system following a 17-year hiatus. The Justice Division has halted executions once more underneath the Biden administration.

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Observe Juan A. Lozano on Twitter: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70.

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