Melissa Lucio: Texas: One step closer to exoneration: (Another major development for this woman who once was granted a stay of execution with just 48 hours to spare.) The Independent (Reporter Katie Hawkinson) reports that a Texas judge has recommended that the conviction and death penalty sentence be overturned of this mother accused of killing her daughter, because of prosecutorial abuse (suppression of evidence) - and that her case will now go before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeal to determine if the conviction and sentence will be overturned..."The move by Judge Arturo Nelson comes after Cameron County, Texas District Attorney Luis Saenz and Lucio’s attorneys filed a statement last week agreeing she should never have been convicted. Both sides agreed key evidence was suppressed at Lucio’s trial — and now, their statement has the support of Judge Nelson. With Judge Nelson’s signature, Lucio’s case will go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the only court that can vacate a conviction. “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,’” Lucio’s attorneys said in a statement on Monday."

PASSAGE OF THE DAY: "Lucio was first arrested in 2007 after her two-year-old, Mariah, was found motionless in her family’s home. The child showed signs of a broken arm untreated for weeks, a head injury, bite marks on her back, and bruises across her body. Prosecutors said she beat her child to death. However, Lucio said the two-year-old sustained the injuries by falling down stairs. Lucio was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008. She was scheduled to be executed in 2022, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted her a stay with just 48 hours to spare. Now, Judge Nelson, the District Attorney’s office and Lucio’s legal team all agree suppressed evidence — such as a Child Protection Services report and witness statements — would have corroborated Lucio’s defence."

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STORY: Texas judge recommends conviction and death penalty sentence overturned for mother accused of killing daughter, by Reporter Katie Hawkinson, published by The Independent, on April 18, 2024. (Katie Hawkinson is a news reporter for The Independent based in Washington DC. She covers a wide range of topics with an emphasis on climate and social justice. Before joining The Independent in November 2023, Katie reported for Insider and the Daily Beast.)

SUB-HEADING: "Case will now go before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to determine if the conviction and sentence will be overturned."

GIST: "The judge who presided over the trial of Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman being held on death row for the murder of her child, has recommended her conviction and sentence be overturned.

The move by Judge Arturo Nelson comes after Cameron County, Texas District Attorney Luis Saenz and Lucio’s attorneys filed a statement last week agreeing she should never have been convicted. Both sides agreed key evidence was suppressed at Lucio’s trial — and now, their statement has the support of Judge Nelson.

With Judge Nelson’s signature, Lucio’s case will go to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, the only court that can vacate a conviction.

“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,’” Lucio’s attorneys said in a statement on Monday.

Lucio’s sons and daughter-in-law expressed their gratitude for Judge Nelson’s decision.

“We hope and pray the Court of Criminal Appeals will agree with the District Attorney, the defense, and Judge Nelson and our mother can come home to her family,” Bobby Alvarez, John Lucio and Michelle Lucio said in a joint statement.

“It’s been 17 years that we have been without her,” they continued. “We love her and miss her and can’t wait to hug her.”

Lucio was first arrested in 2007 after her two-year-old, Mariah, was found motionless in her family’s home. The child showed signs of a broken arm untreated for weeks, a head injury, bite marks on her back, and bruises across her body.

Prosecutors said she beat her child to death. However, Lucio said the two-year-old sustained the injuries by falling down stairs.

Lucio was convicted and sentenced to death in 2008. She was scheduled to be executed in 2022, but the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted her a stay with just 48 hours to spare.

Now, Judge Nelson, the District Attorney’s office and Lucio’s legal team all agree suppressed evidence — such as a Child Protection Services report and witness statements — would have corroborated Lucio’s defence.

Her son, Mr Alvarez, spoke to The Independent just days after Lucio received her stay. He vowed to keep fighting for his mother’s innocence — a fight that could end in the near future if the state’s Court of Criminal Appeals overturns her conviction.

“Even though we’ve got the stay it doesn’t mean the fight is now over,” Mr Alvarez previously told The Independent.""

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/crime/melissa-lucio-judge-unfair-trial-b2530516.html

PUBLISHER'S NOTE:  I am monitoring this case/issue/resource. Keep your eye on the Charles Smith Blog for reports on developments. The Toronto Star, my previous employer for more than twenty incredible years, has put considerable effort into exposing the harm caused by Dr. Charles Smith and his protectors - and into pushing for reform of Ontario's forensic pediatric pathology system. The Star has a "topic"  section which focuses on recent stories related to Dr. Charles Smith. It can be found at: http://www.thestar.com/topic/charlessmith. Information on "The Charles Smith Blog Award"- and its nomination process - can be found at: http://smithforensic.blogspot.com/2011/05/charles-smith-blog-award-nominations.html Please send any comments or information on other cases and issues of interest to the readers of this blog to: hlevy15@gmail.com.  Harold Levy: Publisher: The Charles Smith Blog.

SEE BREAKDOWN OF  SOME OF THE ON-GOING INTERNATIONAL CASES (OUTSIDE OF THE CONTINENTAL USA) THAT I AM FOLLOWING ON THIS BLOG,  AT THE LINK BELOW:  HL:

https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/120008354894645705/4704913685758792985

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FINAL WORD:  (Applicable to all of our wrongful conviction cases):  "Whenever there is a wrongful conviction, it exposes errors in our criminal legal system, and we hope that this case — and lessons from it — can prevent future injustices."

Lawyer Radha Natarajan:

Executive Director: New England Innocence Project;

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FINAL, FINAL WORD: "Since its inception, the Innocence Project has pushed the criminal legal system to confront and correct the laws and policies that cause and contribute to wrongful convictions.   They never shied away from the hard cases — the ones involving eyewitness identifications, confessions, and bite marks. Instead, in the course of presenting scientific evidence of innocence, they've exposed the unreliability of evidence that was, for centuries, deemed untouchable." So true!

Christina Swarns: Executive Director: The Innocence Project;

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YET ANOTHER FINAL WORD:

David Hammond, one of Broadwater's attorneys who sought his exoneration, told the Syracuse Post-Standard, "Sprinkle some junk science onto a faulty identification, and it's the perfect recipe for a wrongful conviction.

https://deadline.com/2021/11/alice-sebold-lucky-rape-conviction-overturned-anthony-broadwater-12348801

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