Free Melissa Lucio

Death Penalty Action coordinated the Free Melissa Lucio campaign, which created the political pressure that helped stop an innocent woman’s execution with just two days to spare. That was a primary focus for us from January to April, in 2022.

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals ordered an evidentiary hearing that never happened, because the prosecutor realized there was no evidence of a crime. In fact, his corrupt predecessor had hidden evidence that would have acquitted Melissa had she had access to it.

Every Thursday the TX CCA issues its rulings. Every Thursday for almost two years, an alarm goes off on my phone, reminding me to check the TX CCA web page for its orders. Today the order was finally issued, denying all of Melissa’s claims, which technically makes Melissa eligible for a new execution date. 

I just got off the phone with Melissa’s son, John, and daughter-in-law, Michelle. They were reeling from the news. None of us expected this, and why would we? After all:

• The film, The State of Texas vs. Melissa spells out the evidence of how there was no crime. That’s why our mantra was “Watch the Film!” 
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• The current Cameron County Prosecutor and the trial judge who sentenced Melissa to death both signed a motion to vacate her conviction

What more is needed?

When Melissa’s execution date was announced in 2022, Death Penalty Action created the Free Melissa Lucio campaign over a weekend. Within weeks we were in Harlingen, Texas, amplifying the voices of Melissa’s family and promoting the film that people could watch on various streaming services. We traveled the state with Melissa’s family, and we were in the Governor’s office when the stay was announced.  

What’s next? Good question. The lawyers are going to do whatever they can. But after several years of sitting on our hands waiting for the process to play out, we must rebuild and reinvigorate a campaign to once again make “Free Melissa Lucio!” the chant heard all across Texas.