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Texas Appeals Court Rejects Melissa Lucio’s Innocence Finding

By Drooid · Sep 24, 2026, 11:51 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a lower court’s finding that Melissa Lucio is innocent.
Lucio, 58, has been on Texas death row since her 2008 capital-murder conviction for daughter Mariah Alvarez.
Judge Arturo Nelson later declared Lucio “actually innocent.”
The appeals court said the record does not support habeas-relief.
Attorney Vanessa Potkin will seek a federal stay of execution and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

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Story summary

Texas Court of Criminal Appeals rejected a lower court’s finding that Melissa Lucio is innocent.
Lucio, 58, has been on Texas death row since her 2008 capital-murder conviction for daughter Mariah Alvarez.
Judge Arturo Nelson later declared Lucio “actually innocent.”
The appeals court said the record does not support habeas-relief.
Attorney Vanessa Potkin will seek a federal stay of execution and appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.