AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas death row inmate is speaking for the first time since a judge said she was “actually innocent.”
Melissa Lucio was convicted of capital murder in 2008 for the death of her 2-year-old daughter. In October, a Cameron County judge said Lucio was innocent and recommended her sentence and conviction be overturned.
Unsealed court documents showed convincing evidence that proved Lucio’s daughter died by an accidental fall down a flight of stairs. Judge Arturo Nelson said prosecutors relied on false testimony and flawed scientific evidence to convince a jury that Lucio was guilty.
After the judge recommended the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals review it, Lucio spoke exclusively in an audio recording to ABC News.
“There are truly no amount of words, no matter how eloquently spoke, that can begin to convey the thanks I feel in this moment,” Lucio said. “I want to thank everyone that has fought so hard. Not just for me, but more importantly for Mariah’s memory.”
The Court of Criminal Appeals will now decide whether to accept Nelson’s recommendation for Lucio. The court stayed her execution in 2022, ordering a trial court to consider her innocence and whether evidence was hidden from the defense. At the time, prosecutors said Mariah’s injuries “could only have been caused by intentional physical abuse.”
Following Mariah’s death, several of Lucio’s children denied their mother was ever physically abusive and confirmed Mariah fell down the stairs. One of the children even said they saw Mariah fall.
During a police interrogation, Lucio “confessed” that she slapped, pinched and bit Mariah, but never admitted to causing her death. Nelson said even if Lucio’s confession were true, none of those actions would’ve caused Mariah’s death.