What is Melissa Lucio accused of? Texas death row prisoner granted a stay of execution 

Melissa Lucio, a Mexican-American woman who was slated to be judicially executed in 48 hours, has been granted a stay of execution by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, which has ordered a lower court to review fresh evidence of her innocence in the murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah.

Lucio's transport to the execution chamber was about to begin on April 25 when the court delivered its ruling. She would have been Texas' first Hispanic woman to be executed.

As the scheduled execution date of April 27 drew nearer, appeals for a stay of execution to allow fresh scientific proof of her innocence to be considered got louder. The outrage against her impending execution was comparable to that of Troy Davis, an African American man hanged by Georgia in 2011 despite major questions about his guilt.

Lucio's legal team provided new information in a 266-page petition that showed the death of her young daughter never happened. Mariah died after accidentally falling down a steep flight of stairs at Lucio's rented property, according to medical and eyewitness testimony.

In a statement, Melissa Lucio thanked the court of criminal appeals for giving her the chance “to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always.”

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The Melissa Lucio case explained briefly

Melissa Lucio was condemned to death in Texas in 2008 for the murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah, who died two days after falling down a flight of stairs. Lucio was taken into police custody and promptly blamed for her daughter's murder, even though she was in shock and grieving the loss of her baby, the youngest of her 12 children at the time.

Lucio's execution has been set for April 27 in Texas and her attorneys submitted a motion to withdraw or modify her impending execution date on February 8. Her legal team filed a plea for mercy to the governor and the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles on March 22.

However, Melissa Lucio's counsel filed a habeas petition with the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on April 15, requesting a stay of execution and saying that she is innocent and that the state used false evidence and withheld favorable evidence to condemn her.

Sandra Babcock, a Cornell law professor and member of Lucio's legal team, stated that the court's ruling set the path for a second trial, which would let a jury hear information that was not offered at her initial trial in 2008.

Five of the twelve jurors from that trial have stated that if they had understood what is now known about the case, they would have made a different decision. She said:

“Melissa’s life matters. As a survivor of childhood sexual abuse and intimate partner violence, and now locked away for these past 15 years, Melissa’s voice and experiences have never been valued. The Court’s decision signals its willingness to finally hear Melissa’s side of the story.”

According to Vanessa Potkin of the Innocence Project, who also represents Melissa Lucio, the death of Melissa Lucio's youngest child was an accident proven by the medical evidence.

“But for the State’s use of false testimony, no juror would have voted to convict Melissa of capital murder because no murder occurred.”

Jeff Leach, the Republican congressman who led the fight in the Texas House for a stay of execution, expressed satisfaction at the announcement, saying it will provide "justice for Melissa, Mariah, and the whole Lucio family."