Texas appeals court rejects ruling of innocence for woman on death row
for 18 years
[September 25, 2026]
By JIM VERTUNO
AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — A Texas court on Thursday rejected a ruling that a
woman on death row for 18 years is innocent of capital murder in the
killing of her 2-year-old daughter in a case that attracted bipartisan
calls from lawmakers and celebrities to release her from prison.
The sharply divided decision by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals
leaves Melissa Lucio on Texas’ death row, where she narrowly escaped
execution in 2022 when the same court ordered a review of her case two
days before her scheduled lethal injection. Lucio's attorneys said
Thursday they will now appeal her case to federal courts.
Lucio, 58, was convicted of capital murder in the death of her daughter,
Mariah, after the child sustained severe head trauma that prosecutors
said came from abuse.
Efforts to get Lucio's conviction overturned focused on claims that the
child wasn't beaten but was injured in an accidental fall down a steep
staircase two days before she died. They were bolstered when the appeals
court ordered the trial court to review some of her claims. Her original
trial judge then issued a 62-page ruling in 2024 that concluded Lucio
was “actually innocent” of capital murder.
Prosecutors had long maintained Mariah was the victim of abuse and noted
her body was covered in bruises. But the trial judge's ruling on Lucio's
innocence also determined that prosecutors presented false testimony,
suppressed evidence and that new scientific evidence that was not
available during Lucio’s 2008 trial undermines and contradicts evidence
presented by the state. Prosecutors had conceded during Lucio's appeal
that they had withheld material evidence in her trial.
But the majority opinion issued by the all-Republican appeals court on
Thursday said the judge’s ruling relied too heavily on Lucio’s
interpretation of events of the case and not the prosecution. The
five-judge majority opinion was unsigned, and four judges dissented.
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This undated booking photo provided by the Texas Department of
Criminal Justice shows Melissa Lucio. (Texas Department of Criminal
Justice via AP, File)
Many lawmakers and celebrities such as Kim Kardashian, an advocate for
criminal justice reform, and Amanda Knox — an American whose murder
conviction in the death of a British student in Italy was overturned —
had rallied to Lucio’s cause.
Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project
and one of Lucio's attorneys, said her legal team will appeal beyond
state courts.
“We will proceed to federal court and do everything in our power to make
sure Melissa ..., an innocent mother who has suffered unbelievably, is
not executed for a crime that never occurred,” Potkin said.
If exonerated, Lucio would be the first woman declared innocent from
Texas death row, joining 18 exonerated men since the death penalty was
reinstated in 1976.
If ultimately put to death, Lucio would be the first Latina executed by
Texas since 1863, and the first woman the state has put to death since
2014.
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