Case Update: Texas Trial Court Recommends Melissa Lucio’s Conviction and Death Sentence Be Overturned
04.15.24
Melissa Lucio behind glass at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. (Image: Ilana Panich-Linsman for The Innocence Project)
Today, attorneys for Melissa Lucio issued the following statement in response to Judge Arturo Nelson’s recommendations that Ms. Lucio’s conviction and death sentenced be overturned by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals:
On April 12, 2024, the Honorable Judge Arturo Nelson entered findings of fact and conclusions of law recommending that the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) overturn Melissa Lucio’s conviction and death sentence. Judge Nelson, who presided over Melissa’s trial, found that critical information was withheld from the defense at the time of trial. On April 25, 2022, the CCA issued a stay of execution for Melissa and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron Country to consider new evidence of her innocence in the death of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez, along with other claims challenging the fairness and reliability of her conviction. Following the remand and in response to the CCA’s directive, the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office undertook further review of Melissa’s case. After that review, the DA’s office concluded that the undisputed facts show that favorable evidence was withheld from Melissa’s defense team at the time of trial. Judge Nelson found that critical information was withheld from the defense at the time of trial and that Lucio ‘met her burden of proof, by a preponderance of the evidence, that she would not have been convicted in light of the suppressed evidence.’ The case now moves to the CCA, which has the ultimate power to decide whether the conviction should be set aside.
— Vanessa Potkin, Director of Special Litigation at the Innocence Project; Richard Ellis, attorney at law; Tivon Schardl, Chief of the Capital Habeas Unit for the Federal Public Defender in the Western District of Texas; and Professor Sandra Babcock, Director of the Cornell Center on the Death Penalty Worldwide, Melissa Lucio’s Attorneys
— April 15, 2024
Latest documents on the case:
- Agreed Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law on Applicant’s First Subsequent Application for a Writ of Habeas Corpus can be viewed here.
- The Joint Statement of the Cameron County District Attorney and the Legal Team for Melissa Lucio can be viewed here.
More information:
Please contact Laura Burstein at [email protected]. You can also read more about the case here.