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HOUSTON (AP) — A decide has really useful that the conviction and loss of life sentence of Melissa Lucio, a Texas lady whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid rising doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, must be overturned amid findings that evidence in her murder trial was suppressed.
Senior State District Choose Arturo Nelson on Friday authorized an settlement between prosecutors and Lucio’s attorneys that discovered the suppressed proof, together with witness statements from Lucio’s kids and a report by Youngster Protecting Providers, would have corroborated Lucio’s defense that her daughter Mariah died of a head damage sustained in an unintentional fall down a steep staircase two days earlier than her loss of life.
“She wouldn’t have been convicted in gentle of the suppressed proof,” in accordance with the 33-page settlement between the workplace of Cameron County District Legal professional Luis Saenz and Lucio’s attorneys.
Nelson’s advice has been despatched to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which is able to make the ultimate resolution on whether or not Lucio’s conviction and loss of life sentence are overturned. There was no timetable for a ruling by the appeals courtroom. Lucio’s case has turn into a trigger célèbre amongst folks, together with Kim Kardashian.
“We hope and pray the Court docket of Felony Appeals will agree with the District Legal professional, the protection, and Choose Nelson and our mom can come residence to her household. It’s been 17 years that we’ve got been with out her. We love her and miss her and might’t wait to hug her,” Lucio’s kids mentioned in an announcement Monday.
The settlement on findings in Lucio’s case had remained in limbo for 16 months earlier than one other decide, Gabriela Garcia. On April 5, Lucio’s legal professionals and Saenz had issued a joint public assertion during which they mentioned that the findings have been nonetheless below evaluation by Garcia.
On April 10, Missy Medary, the presiding decide for the Fifth Administrative Judicial Area in South Texas, assigned Nelson to handle the pending findings within the case. Nelson, who’s a retired decide and had presided over Lucio’s 2008 trial, authorized the findings two days later.
It was not instantly recognized why Nelson was assigned to evaluation the findings. Court docket directors for Garcia and Medary didn’t instantly return calls and emails in search of remark.
Lucio, 55, had been set for deadly injection in April 2022 for the 2007 loss of life of her daughter in Harlingen, a metropolis of about 71,000 in Texas’ southern tip. However the Texas Court docket of Felony Appeals halted her lethal injection two days earlier than her scheduled execution so Lucio’s claims that new proof would exonerate her may very well be reviewed.
Earlier than the agreed findings authorized by Nelson, prosecutors had lengthy maintained Mariah was the sufferer of abuse and famous her physique was lined in bruises.
Lucio’s case has garnered assist from Kardashian and a bipartisan group of lawmakers, together with Democratic state Rep. Joe Moody.
“Melissa Lucio has been in jail for greater than a decade and a half, which is an unimaginable injustice, however one that may at the very least be undone,” Moody mentioned in a put up Tuesday on the social platform X.
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Comply with Juan A. Lozano: https://twitter.com/juanlozano70
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