The State of Texas vs. Melissa

On February 17, 2007, paramedics were called to a residence, where an unresponsive two-year-old child, who later died, was found. The child's mother, Melissa Lucio, was arrested and convicted of murder due to evidence of abuse.{{cite web |title=Death Row Information |url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_info/luciomelissa.html |publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |access-date=April 17, 2021}} A 2011 appeal against the conviction was denied.{{cite web |title=Melissa Elizabeth Lucio v. The State of Texas (concurring) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/texas/court-of-criminal-appeals/2011/21496.html |website=Justia Law |language=en}} However, due to trial court interference in the accused's right to present a defense, the sentence was unanimously overturned in 2019 by a three-judge panel of the Federal Appeals Court.{{cite web |title=Federal Appeals Court Overturns Mother's Conviction in Texas Child Murder Case That May Have Been an Accidental Death |url=https://deathpenaltyinfo.org/news/federal-appeals-court-overturns-mothers-conviction-in-texas-child-murder-case-that-may-have-been-an-accidental-death |website=Death Penalty Information Center}} However, the full court in 2021 ruled that the conviction had to be upheld for procedural reasons "despite the difficult issue of the exclusion of testimony that might have cast doubt on the credibility of Lucio's confession",{{cite news| agency=The Associated Press | title=Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman Melissa Lucio's execution | publisher=NPR | date=3 April 2022 | url=https://www.npr.org/2022/04/03/1090491855/lawyers-hope-new-evidence-can-stop-texas-woman-melissa-lucios-execution}} and the death sentence was upheld.{{cite web |title=Inmates on Death Row |url=https://www.tdcj.texas.gov/death_row/dr_offenders_on_dr.html |publisher=Texas Department of Criminal Justice |access-date=January 15, 2022}}

In January 2022, Cameron County officials signed an execution warrant for Lucio, scheduled for April 27, 2022.{{cite news|last=Puente|first=Nathaniel|date=January 14, 2022|title=Harlingen woman faces April execution for daughter's 2007 murder|work=KVEO-TV|url=https://www.valleycentral.com/news/local-news/harlingen-woman-faces-april-execution-for-daughters-2007-murder/|access-date=January 15, 2022}} On April 25, 2022 the Texas Court of Appeals granted a stay in Lucio's case and remanded it back to trial court. The court found merit in four of Lucio's claims for clemency.{{Cite web |last=Hennes |first=Rebecca |date=2022-04-25 |title=What to know about Melissa Lucio, Texas mom on death row whose execution was halted by a Texas court |url=https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/crime/article/Melissa-Lucio-execution-things-to-know-17120319.php |access-date=2022-04-26 |website=Houston Chronicle |language=en-US}}

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The documentary received overall positive feedback, with {{a or an|{{RT data|score}}}} score on Rotten Tomatoes.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_state_of_texas_vs_melissa|title=The State of Texas vs. Melissa (2020)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}

• List of death row inmates in the United States
• List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States
• List of women on death row in the United States

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Category:2020 films

Category:2020 documentary films

Category:American documentary films

Category:Films about capital punishment

Category:Documentary films about capital punishment in the United States

Category:2020s American films