HOUSTON (AP) — Efforts to free Melissa Lucio , a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, were significantly bolstered after a judge concluded that she is “actually innocent” of capital murder. Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson concluded that prosecutors presented false testimony, suppressed evidence and that new scientific evidence that was not available during Lucio’s 2008 trial undermines and contradicts evidence presented by the state. He recommended that Lucio’s conviction and death sentence be overturned.
“This Court finds (Lucio) has satisfied her burden and produced clear and convincing evidence that she is actually innocent of the offense of capital murder,” Nelson wrote in a 62-page ruling he signed in October but was not made public until Thursday. Lucio has long maintained she is innocent and her daughter Mariah died of a head injury sustained in an accidental fall down a steep staircase two days before her death. Nelson’s recommendation has been sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which will make the final decision in Lucio’s case.
There was no timetable for a ruling by the appeals court. Lucio’s case has garnered support from celebrities like Kim Kardashian and a bipartisan group of lawmakers . RELATED COVERAGE Man pleads guilty to stealing millions from major Detroit nonprofit Recalled California DA charges county jail staff in 2021 in-custody death of inma.