## Judge Declares Melissa Lucio Innocent in Daughter's Death

Melissa Lucio's 16-year ordeal on death row for the alleged murder of her 2-year-old daughter has taken a profound turn. In a recent development, a Texas judge has proclaimed that Lucio did not commit the crime for which she was convicted. "Applicant is actually innocent; she did not kill her daughter," wrote state district Judge Arturo C. Nelson in an October filing made public on Thursday.

The case now heads back to the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which had earlier called for Judge Nelson to re-evaluate the case. The court will decide whether Lucio should be released from her sentence. "After 16 years on death row, it's time for the nightmare to end. Melissa should be home right now with her children and grandchildren," remarked Vanessa Potkin with the Innocence Project, one of Lucio's attorneys.

Lucio's situation underscores the inherent risk within the capital punishment system—executing an innocent person. Since 1973, more than 200 individuals sentenced to death have been exonerated, including 18 in Texas, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. Lucio is one of seven women currently on death row in Texas, among a total of 174 condemned inmates.

No execution date has been set for Lucio since the Criminal Court of Appeals ordered Judge Nelson to review her case. As of Friday, no additional hearings had been scheduled, and the timeline for the appellate judges to review Nelson's ruling remains uncertain. "There's no timeline within which the (Criminal Court of Appeals) has to decide a case that is submitted to them," Potkin told CNN.

The news comes as a relief to Lucio's family, especially with the holiday season approaching. "This is the best news we could get going into the holidays," said her sons John Lucio and Bobby Alvarez, along with a daughter-in-law, in a statement released by their attorneys. "We pray our mother will be home soon."

The case traces back to 2007, when Lucio, after an hourslong interrogation, initially insisted on her innocence but ultimately said she was "'responsible' for what happened" to her daughter. However, she never explicitly confessed to causing the death of her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. Judge Nelson's ruling reveals that Lucio's defense has always claimed she did not confess to the crime.

Earlier this year, Judge Nelson recommended overturning Lucio's conviction, citing withheld evidence that suggested Mariah might have died from an accidental fall down the stairs rather than physical abuse. Both Lucio's attorneys and the Cameron County District Attorney's Office acknowledged that key evidence had been withheld, agreeing that she deserved relief.

"This Court concludes there is clear and convincing evidence that no rational juror could convict Applicant of capital murder or any lesser included offense," Nelson wrote in his ruling. He also noted that Lucio's trial jury had been improperly influenced by a prosecution witness who claimed he could judge Lucio's credibility based on her "demeanor," a method now debunked by science. Furthermore, the jury was not informed that Lucio had been a victim of physical and sexual abuse, factors that increase the risk of a false confession, according to Nelson's findings.