Mellisa Lucio: Death Row: Texas: LMT Magazine (Texas Digital Reporter Robin Bradshaw) reports that she waits as theTexas Court of Criminal Appeals decides her fate after South Texas Judge Arturo Nelson recommended that her conviction be overturned for the 2007 murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez, noting that: Nelson’s recommendation came in April 2024, after he agreed that the former district attorney from Lucio’s trial illegally withheld favorable evidence that would have helped prove that Mariah died from injuries sustained in an accidental fall, not abuse, according to initial reporting. Nelson ruled that the suppression of evidence violated Lucio’s constitutional rights under Brady v. Maryland and required reversal of her conviction."

QUOTE OF THE DAY: “Melissa Lucio lived every parent’s nightmare when she lost her daughter after a tragic accident. It became a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake up when she was sent to death row for a crime that never happened, said Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project. ‘After years on death row, it’s time for the nightmare to end. Melissa should be home right now with her children and grandchildren.”

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

PASSAGE OF THE DAY:  "In addition to the lower court's ruling that the death of Mariah was a fall accident, the case was part of a corruption pattern later uncovered within the district attorney's office. During Lucio’s trial, then-District Attorney Armando Villalobos was seeking reelection and came under scrutiny for failing to thoroughly investigate or prosecute more than 100 previous allegations of child abuse, according to a report from the Innocence Project in 2022. After Lucio’s conviction for capital murder, Villalobos was later convicted for his role in a bribery and extortion scheme and is now serving a 13-year sentence in federal prison “Evidence presented at trial revealed that from October 2, 2006, through May 3, 2012, Villalobos and others were involved in a scheme to illegally generate income for themselves and others through a pattern of bribery and extortion, favoritism, improper influence, personal self-enrichment, self-dealing, concealment and conflict of interest,” a portion of the U.S. Department of Justice reads."

————————————————————————————

PASSAGE TWO OF THE DAY: "While Villalobos interrogated Lucio, she denied accusations and maintained her innocence for three hours. Then, near the fifth hour, Lucio confessed to the murder. Lucio has since maintained her innocence for the past 17 years while on Texas's death row."

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

STORY: "Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio awaits fate as court weighs conviction reversal," by Texas Digital Reporter Robin Bradshaw, published by LMT Magazine, on May 20, 2025. (Robin Bradshaw is a digital reporter. A Texas native, she graduated from Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi with a bachelor of applied science in legal studies. She was a reporter for Gannett in South Texas before her role at Hearst. She covers an array of story angles. Contact her at robin.bradshaw@hearst.com for any tips or story leads.)

GIST: "Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio patiently waits as the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decides her fate after South Texas Judge Arturo Nelson recommended that her conviction be overturned for the 2007 murder of her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez. 

As with all death row cases, Lucio’s legal battle has been lengthy, with nearly 20 years behind bars.

Nelson’s recommendation came in April 2024, after he agreed that the former district attorney from Lucio’s trial illegally withheld favorable evidence that would have helped prove that Mariah died from injuries sustained in an accidental fall, not abuse, according to initial reporting. Nelson ruled that the suppression of evidence violated Lucio’s constitutional rights under Brady v. Maryland and required reversal of her conviction. 

Last year’s recommendation from the lower court came after the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals returned the case to Nelson to issue a recommendation in June 2019. Following Nelson’s decision, Lucio’s defense team and the Cameron County District Attorney’s Office signed a joint statement recommending that her conviction be vacated.

In addition to the lower court's ruling that the death of Mariah was a fall accident, the case was part of a corruption pattern later uncovered within the district attorney's office. During Lucio’s trial, then-District Attorney Armando Villalobos was seeking reelection and came under scrutiny for failing to thoroughly investigate or prosecute more than 100 previous allegations of child abuse, according to a report from the Innocence Project in 2022.

After Lucio’s conviction for capital murder, Villalobos was later convicted for his role in a bribery and extortion scheme and is now serving a 13-year sentence in federal prison.

“Evidence presented at trial revealed that from October 2, 2006, through May 3, 2012, Villalobos and others were involved in a scheme to illegally generate income for themselves and others through a pattern of bribery and extortion, favoritism, improper influence, personal self-enrichment, self-dealing, concealment and conflict of interest,” a portion of the U.S. Department of Justice reads.

While Villalobos interrogated Lucio, she denied accusations and maintained her innocence for three hours. Then, near the fifth hour, Lucio confessed to the murder. Lucio has since maintained her innocence for the past 17 years while on Texas's death row. 

“Melissa Lucio lived every parent’s nightmare when she lost her daughter after a tragic accident. It became a nightmare from which she couldn’t wake up when she was sent to death row for a crime that never happened, said Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project. ‘After years on death row, it’s time for the nightmare to end. Melissa should be home right now with her children and grandchildren.”

The entire story can be read at: 

https://www.lmtonline.com/news/article/melissa-lucio-conviction-reversal-20335304.php

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

———————————————————————————————

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;

—————————————————————————————————

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;