A Texas mother who avoided execution two years ago is "actually innocent" in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, said a judge recommended voiding her conviction. Melissa Lucio, 56, was convicted of murdering her daughter, Mariah Alvarez in 2007. Prosecutors argued that severe physical abuse by Lucio caused her death. Her lawyers and advocates say Mariah's death and the injuries found on her body were caused by an accidental fall down the stairs. Lucio "did not kill her daughter," wrote Arturo Nelson, who presided over the original murder trial. The case now will be considered by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, reports USA Today.
Nelson wrote that evidence that could have helped prove Mariah's injuries were related to the fall was improperly withheld from the defense by prosecutors. The fall allegedly happened days before Mariah became unresponsive and ultimately was declared dead at a hospital. That evidence included interviews with Lucio's other children, who told investigators that their mother was not abusive and confirmed that Mariah had fallen down the stairs. Nelson found that damning testimony given by the state's medical examiner was incorrect.
Vanessa Potkin of The Innocence Project and one of Lucio's attorneys, said Lucio "lived every parent's nightmare" when Mariah died