Finally! DA admits hiding evidence in Melissa Lucio’s case
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Houston The prosecution, the defense and the judge  all agree now that evidence hidden by the Cameron County District Attorney from Melissa Lucio’s trial counsel should cause the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals to reverse her conviction! Lucio was sent to death row in 2008 for causing the

On April 15, Lucio’s children issued the following statement: “We are grateful to our mother’s legal team for their hard work to bring the truth to light and to DA Saenz for taking another look at our mother’s case and recognizing that she did not receive a fair trial and her conviction should be overturned. We hope and pray the Court of Criminal Appeals will agree with the District Attorney, the defense, and the judge and our mother can come home to her family. It’s been 17 years that we have been without her. We love and miss her and can’t wait to hug her.”

Lucio’s case has gathered widespread attention and support. In February 2022, the Inter-American Court on Human Rights (IACHR) issued precautionary measures asking the state to refrain from execution until her case was reviewed and to ensure detention conditions align with international human rights standards.

In March 2022, 81 members of the Texas House of Representatives, led by Republican Representative Jeff Leach, signed a letter calling on Gov. Greg Abbott and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant her clemency. The stay was granted before the board had a chance to vote.

A friend of the court brief filed by the Innocence Project and The Innocence Network on behalf of Lucio stated: “Police interrogation may sometimes psychologically pressure even innocent people to confess to crimes they did not commit. When the interrogated suspect is a battered woman, as she was in this case, such risks are heightened, and the need for expert testimony to explain these risks to lay juries are more acute.”