AUSTIN, Texas — When a Texas appeals court halted the execution of Melissa Lucio Monday, lawmakers on both sides of the aisle were celebrating.
“It confirms what many of us have been saying for a long time, that Melissa Lucio shouldn’t be on death row to begin with,” said state Rep. Joe Moody, D-El Paso.
Lucio was convicted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter back in 2008. Prosecutors say Lucio abused the toddler, but she maintains her daughter died after accidentally falling down the stairs. Lucio’s lawyers also say her conviction was based on a coerced confession that came after hours of police questioning.
The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the case back to Cameron County, where the trial court will determine new evidence that could prove her innocence
“There are four different legal issues that are going to go back to the trial court,” said Moody. “And they are finally going to get due consideration. You have evidence the state used false testimony, you have previously unavailable scientific evidence. Give [Lucio] a fair day in court.”
The case prompted international outcry and celebrity attention. Here in Texas, Moody and state Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, led a bipartisan coalition to stop the execution. They also visited her in prison, and Leach was the one to tell her about the stay over the phone Monday. It’s led many to reevaluate the justice system as a whole.
“Justice isn’t blue or red,” said Moody. “The problems we have in our criminal justice system are a bipartisan problem, so if we are going to solve them, we have to do it in a bipartisan way.”