Daughter Of Woman Kim Kardashian Wants Saved From Death Row Claims Mom Abused Sister Before Her Death, Photo: Twitter / Instagram / Kathy Hutchins / Shutterstock, Oklahoma Gov. In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Now, are you a cold-blooded killer or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on [Mariah]?" He spoke in emotional support of his mother at a press conference on Friday held by civic engagement nonprofit Somos Tejas, Texas state Rep. Victoria Neave Criado and other Texas state legislators saying that his family "hasn't been the same" since her incarceration. They also argued that a judge's order to exclude expert testimony on the effects of trauma had "deprived Melissa of the only means she had of explaining that, notwithstanding her demeanor and self-incriminating statements, she was innocent of her daughter's murder. Texas Department of Criminal Justice via AP. He claims that before his deceased daughter Mariah Alvarez passed away, he was unaware of her fatal injuries. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. [25], A 2020 documentary by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa follows Lucio's case. She had numerous bruises, bite marks on her back, pulled-out hair patches, and a broken arm. Abbott has granted clemency to only one death row inmate, Thomas Whitaker, since taking office in 2015. Her dad passed away when she was a baby so her family moved to the Rio Grande Valley where her mother grew up when she was still a little kid. At one point, a ranger got within inches of Lucio's face and said there was evidence that did not look good, the petition stated. Two days later, she took a nap and didnt wake up. He is now serving a 13-year federal prison sentence for bribery and extortion. She said she believes she falsely confessed in part because of a learned fear of violence. "Our campaign is called Free Melissa Lucio because we don't want to just save her, we want her out," Bonowitz said. She said that her boyfriend was often violent and used drugs and alcohol. "And she was ashamed of what she did, and she had a hard time admitting to officers what had occurred. She was especially vulnerable, her lawyers say, as she was grieving for her daughter, pregnant with twins at the time, and a victim of abuse and trauma throughout her life. Lucy Guarnera, an assistant professor at the University of Virginia who studies false confessions, said law enforcement often uses "behavioral lie detection" techniques that look at a person's actions to predetermine innocence or guilt. The medical examiner also testified at trial that a mark on Mariahs body were bite marks. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. Greg Abbott and other elected officials to stop her execution. [21] Lucio subsequently petitioned for clemency. April 17 2022, 4:00 a.m. "Free Melissa . The omission of this crucial evidence was particularly damaging because the prosecution had a weak case for capital murder, and an even weaker case for a death sentence. Bite mark analysis has been. Ms. Lucio endured abuse throughout her childhood and into her teenage years. Selina recalls her mother excluding Mariah, keeping her separate from her other children on a number of occasions. As two experts on false confessions have determined, due to the officers tactics and Ms. Lucios vulnerability, her incriminating statements are not a reliable confession of her guilt, but rather are a regurgitation of information relayed to her from investigators throughout the interrogation.. "The Innocence Project recognized the urgency that an innocent woman was headed for execution," Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation for the organization, told ABC News. But Ms. Lucios life is still in jeopardy. 27, 2022 for the 2007 death of Mariah. "When I walked in, she was not making eye contact with the investigator. Among the tips is to make the victim feel safe, arrange for an advocate to be present in the room, express compassion and not interrupt the victim. Melissa Lucios husband Roberto Antonio Alvarez testified in the case about the death of his daughter Mariah Alvarez. Lucios lawyers say that Mariahs death was due to falling down the stairs but prosecutors say that Mariahs injuries were from someone hitting or hurting her. [16] In 2019, a three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court overturned the sentence and ordered a retrial because of the trial court's interference in Lucio's right to present a defense. The only person who abused my sister was my mother, Melissa Lucio, she claims in another video. var isYTTikTok = 1; Kim Kardashian has joined the fight to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, a woman sentenced to the death penalty for the death of her 2-year-old daughter in 2007. [27] On April 17, 2022, in the main segment of another episode, called "Police Interrogations", Lucio's case was mentioned again as having every hallmark of a false confession.[28]. At the time of her death, Mariah was healing from an injury to her arm, which the medical examiner also said was a sign of abuse. But this can be detrimental because "a lot of trauma symptoms look like these behavioral cues of lying," Guarnera said. Mariah Alvarez: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy Viral on Twitter & Reddit. On February 17 2007 paramedics came to the Lucio home because two-year-old Mariah was not breathing and didnt respond. In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" Lucio and her children struggled through poverty. She is scheduled to be executed by. "https:" : "http:") + '//www.tiktok.com/embed.js'; Nearly 15 years later, Lucio, 53, remains on death row at Mountain View Unit prison in Gatesville, Texas. Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is set to be executed on April 27. At the time, Lucio said, the toddler didn't appear to be hurt, ABC News reported, citing court records. He also stated that Lucio's execution would be a terrible tragedy. Abbott must undertake a meaningful review of Ms. Lucios innocence claim, the coercive tactics used in her interrogation, and the tragic circumstances of Mariahs accidental death, before an irreversible injustice occurs. Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. jsTikTok.type = 'text/javascript'; In their clemency petition, Lucio's lawyers say that while she had used drugs, leading her to temporarily lose custody of her children, she was a loving mother who worked to remain drug-free and provide for her family. The trial court prohibited this testimony but allowed the Texas Ranger who coerced Ms. Lucios incriminating statement to testify, falsely, for the prosecution that Ms. Lucios slumped posture, passivity, and failure to make eye contact told him that she was guilty. Instead of taking the steps to learn about Mariahs health history and investigating the causes of her injuries, authorities immediately jumped to the conclusion that she had been murdered and, through a coercive interrogation, pressured Ms. Lucio to make a false statement. Lucio that her teenage daughter, Alexandra, may have been responsible for the bruises found on Mariahs body after her death. Many family members and supporters say the girl's . Keller, P.J., joined except for points 4 and 11, in which she concurs. Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos, who was sentenced to 13 years in federal prison in 2014 for extortion in a case unrelated to Lucio's, described this statement as a confession during the trial. This is an incredibly serious allegation that must be taken seriously and investigated thoroughly in order to ensure justice for a young girl whose life has already been so drastically impacted by such trauma. Shes guilty of abusing my sister which led to the death of my sister. In particular, the jury never learned about the extent of Ms. Lucios history of child sexual abuse and domestic violence and how it shaped her reactions immediately following her daughters death. Your IP: Ms. Lucio got the death penalty but shes asking for a chance to appeal. After nearly 15 years on death row in Texas, Lucio was granted a stay of her scheduled . Prosecutors said that Mariah's injuries were the result of physical abuse, while Lucio's attorneys say that her death was caused by a fall down the stairs two days prior. Photos: Melissa Lucio Daughter Mariah Alvarez Autopsy Melissa Lucio is the first Hispanic woman to receive a death sentence in the state of Texas. jsTikTok.src = (document.location.protocol == "https:" ? In a March 2022 letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Governor Abbott, eighty-three members of the Texas House of Representatives, including both Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter stating that executing Lucio would be "a miscarriage of justice". In 2016, in recognition of the fact that bite mark evidence lacks scientific validity and following the exoneration of a man in Texas convicted based on faulty bite mark evidence, the Texas Forensic Science Commission recommended a state-wide moratorium on the use of bite mark evidence in criminal cases. Abbott can grant a one-time, 30-day reprieve. American woman controversially sentenced to death, Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, List of death row inmates in the United States, List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States, List of women on death row in the United States, "Woman with Lubbock ties to be executed, many take up the cause to stop it", "Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed for a crime that may not have occurred", "Is Texas Sending Melissa Lucio to Die for a Crime That Never Happened? The autopsy also revealed that Mariah had suffered a head injury and bruises on her kidneys, lungs, and spinal cord. The death penalty is wrong. The Lucio family went to the event to urge the governor to . RELATED: 5 Death Penalty Facts That Will Make You Want To Abolish It Now. var jsTikTok = document.createElement('script'); The state argued that Lucio confessed to a pattern of abusing Mariah and to inflicting fatal blows to the . Lucio received the death penalty for the death of Mariah. In the similar case of Manuel Velez, a man who was initially convicted for murdering a one-year-old baby and whose death sentence was overturned after further investigation, Farley's conclusions had also been contradicted by other medical experts. were wrongly convicted of harming children or other loved ones in their care and over 70% were wrongly convicted of crimes that never took place at all events that were accidents, deaths by suicide, or fabricated according to data from the, Detectives rushed to judgment and, just two hours after Mariah died, took Ms. Lucio in for questioning. 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