Melissa Lucio's execution delayed by Texas appeals court

Associated Press

In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding her daughter Mariah, while one of her other daughters, Adriana, stands next to them. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of Mariah. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter but Lucio has long denied that, saying Mariah died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. Her lawyers say Lucio's history of sexual and physical abuse led to her giving an unreliable confession. They hope to persuade the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to either grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. (Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP)

In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat Mariah but Lucio has long denied that, saying her daughter died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. Her lawyers say Lucio's history of sexual and physical abuse led to her giving an unreliable confession. They hope to persuade the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to either grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. (Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP)

A Texas appeals court on Monday delayed the execution of a woman who was sentenced to death for the murder of her toddler daughter.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a stay of execution so a lower court could review her claims that new evidence would exonerate her. The lower court would begin reviewing her case.

The city of about 75,000 in Texas' southern tip had been set to execute Lucio on Wednesday for the death of her daughter.

The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was going to consider her clemency application before the execution was put on hold.

According to her attorneys, her capital murder conviction was based on an unreliable and coerced confession that was the result of relentless questioning and her long history of sexual, physical and emotional abuse. They say that she wasn't allowed to present evidence questioning the validity of her confession.

Her lawyers contend that jurors were misled into believing that her injuries were caused by physical abuse and not by medical problems from a severe fall.

Luis Saenz, the District Attorney in the county where the case was prosecuted, disagrees with the lawyers who claim that new evidence will exonerate her. Some of her children had lost custody of her due to her drug abuse.

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Nearly half of the jurors who sentenced the Texas woman to death for the death of one of her children have called for her to get a new trial. The city of about 75,000 in Texas' southern tip is where the execution is going to take place on Wednesday. Lawyers for Lucio have filed legal appeals to stop her execution.
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