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Calls Grow to Halt Execution of Texan Who Says She Was Wrongfully Convicted of Murdering Her Child

HeadlineApr 15, 2022

A bipartisan group of over 100 Texas lawmakers has joined calls to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, who is scheduled to die in less than two weeks. Lucio says she was wrongfully convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter Mariah after a tragic accident in 2007. Attorneys say Lucio faced a lifetime of abuse, was pressured to make a false confession and didn’t get a fair trial. This week, lawmakers asked the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles to grant Lucio clemency after a hearing in which they called on the district attorney to cancel her April 27 execution date. Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz testified that if Lucio does not get a stay, “Then I will do what I have to do and stop it.” Former trial juror Johnny Galvan also testified via his daughter that he opposed Lucio’s execution.

Johnny Galvan Jr.: “The idea that my decision to take another person’s life was not based on complete and accurate information in a fair trial is horrifying.”

Lucio would be the first Latina woman executed by Texas. Next week, the state plans to execute 77-year-old Carl Wayne Buntion, the oldest person on Texas’s death row.

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