Melissa Lucio

After 17 years on death row, new findings affirm Melissa Lucio’s innocence.

Melissa Lucio was wrongly convicted and sentenced to death for the accidental death of her daughter, Mariah, who died two days after a fall down a flight of stairs. Ms. Lucio has spent nearly two decades on Texas’ death row for a crime that never happened. 

Just two days before her scheduled execution in April 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals (CCA) issued a stay and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to review new evidence pointing to her innocence.

In April 2024, the judge who presided over Ms. Lucio’s original trial — Judge Arturo Nelson — found that the former prosecution team illegally suppressed critical evidence showing that Mariah’s injuries were consistent with an accidental fall, not abuse. Judge Nelson ruled that the suppression of this evidence at Ms. Lucio’s trial violated her constitutional rights under Brady v. Maryland and recommended that her conviction be overturned. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz agreed, affirming that Ms. Lucio’s rights were violated and that her conviction should not stand.

Then, in October 2024, after further review of Ms. Lucio’s remaining claims, Judge Nelson went a step further: he found that Melissa Lucio is actually innocent and that she did not kill her daughter, and recommended that both her conviction and death sentence be vacated. The case is now pending at the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will decide whether to adopt these findings and finally overturn her wrongful conviction.

Currently on Death Row:

Yes

Time Served:

17 years

State: Texas

Charge: Capital murder

Conviction: Capital murder

Sentence: Death

Incident Date: 02/17/2007

Conviction Date: 08/12/2008

Accused Pleaded Guilty: No

Case Year: 2007

Contributing Causes of Conviction: False Confessions or Admissions, Government Misconduct, Unvalidated or Improper Forensic Science

Death Penalty Case: Yes

Key Facts to Know About Melissa Lucios

  1. The judge who presided over Melissa Lucio’s trial finds she is “actually innocent.”

  2. Ms. Lucio’s statements to police have all the hallmarks of a false confession.

  3. Ms. Lucio’s lifetime of sexual abuse and domestic violence made her especially vulnerable to coercive interrogation tactics.

  4. The jury was presented with unscientific testimony asserting Ms. Lucio’s guilt.

  5. Gender bias shaped Ms. Lucio’s investigation and prosecution. 

  6.  Ms. Lucio is driven by her faith and commitment to her family.

  7. There is broad support across Texas for Ms. Lucio.