Texas: She was set to be executed for her daughter’s death – Now prosecutors say it was an accident

Melissa Elizabeth Lucio has been on death row for 15 years, but the judge who oversaw her trial, as well as her prosecutors and defense attorneys, now agree that the mother of 12 doesn’t belong there.

A Texas judge reviewing the case says evidence was withheld during her trial that suggested the convicted woman’s young daughter died in a tragic accident and not by her own hand, according to reports from People.

Signing a 33-page court document listing the agreed findings between the parties, Senior Judge Arturo Nelson said Lucio’s conviction and death sentence should be overturned and ordered the court documents sent to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals.

What had happened

On Feb. 17, 2007, paramedics arrived at the family’s home in Brownsville, Texas, because Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter, Mariah Alvarez, was “turning purple and unresponsive,” according to the filing.

Prosecutors later claimed that Mariah died from head trauma caused by childhood abuse.

In July 2008, Lucio was convicted of manslaughter in her daughter’s death and a month later was put on death row, according to court documents and her online information on death row.

But the legal parties and the judge agree that important evidence was withheld from her trial, including a child protective services report detailing interviews with five of Lucio’s children, according to the new court filing.

Shortly after Mariah’s death, the girl’s brother, Bobby Alvarez, 7 at the time, said he had seen Mariah fall “down some stairs” two days before her death. The boy also said he’s “never seen anyone hit Mariah.”

That evidence was important when investigating Mariah’s cause of death, according to the new court filing.

“This suppressed evidence informs a medical diagnosis consistent with appellant’s defense: that Mariah died as a result of accidental trauma,” the filing states.

What are her children saying?

This week, Bobby Alvarez, now an adult, issued a joint statement with his family about the judge’s decision.

“Important evidence that our sister Mariah’s death was an accident and not a murder was never presented to the jury,” the family said, adding that they hope “our mother will return to her family home. It’s been 17 years since we lost her. We love her and miss her and can’t wait to hug her.”

Lucio was originally scheduled for execution on April 27, 2022, but her case was postponed.

Before her scheduled execution, five jurors came forward asking to halt Lucio’s execution or to grant her a new trial.

“I am now convinced that the jurors erred and I know there is too much doubt to execute Lucio,” one of the jurors, Johnny Galvan Jr., wrote in his newspaper article Houston Chronicle. “If I could take my vote back, I would,” he says.

Lucio, who had worked as a janitor, had no criminal record before her daughter’s death, according to her online death penalty information.

She is also one of seven women in Texas currently on death row, according to the electronic list of death row inmates of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice.