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Melissa Lucio execution: Time is running out for Texas woman on death row for young daughter's death

The list of people supporting the South Texas mother of 14 convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter continues to grow as her execution date creeps closer.

Michelle Homer, Jolie McCullough / Texas Tribune

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Published: 9:52 AM PDT April 15, 2022
Updated: 8:57 AM PDT April 25, 2022

On April 27, 53-year-old Melissa Elizabeth Lucio is scheduled to be strapped to a gurney in the Texas execution chamber and given a lethal dose of drugs.

Lucio, the only Latina on death row, was sentenced to death after she was convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2008 in Harlingen.

The mother of 13 surviving children, including twins she was forced to give up after giving birth in prison, has insisted from the beginning that Mariah was hurt after accidentally falling down a flight of stairs. 

Lucio's case has drawn attention from politicians, celebrities, and the national media after flaws in her case cast doubt on her guilt. Five of the jurors who convicted Lucio have asked the state parole board and Gov. Greg Abbott to stop her execution. And her children are pleading for mercy and fighting for her life.

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