#253 Jason Flom on Melissa Lucio

Time is running out for Melissa Lucio. We must act now! Melissa Lucio had 12 children with twins on the way, when the family was moving to a new apartment at the behest of Child Protective Services. A set of rickety exit stairs was high on the list of reasons, and a history of inter-sibling violence was well documented. Melissa's youngest, 2 year old Mariah, fell down those rickety stairs during the move. There were no outward injuries; however, over the next 2 days, the fall caused a sequence of medical issues to unfold, including cerebral edema, brain bleed, a deficiency of blood clotting factors, and eventually the appearance of wide spread inexplicable bruising. On February 17th, 2007, paramedics were dispatched to an unresponsive Mariah who subsequently died. Injuries and bruises from her siblings, the tumble down the stairs, and her depleted ability to stave off internal bleeding led first responders, physicians, and the police to believe that Mariah had experienced horrific child abuse at the hands of her primary caregiver. Melissa Lucio was convicted of child abuse, as well as capital murder, and sentenced to death. The DA on her case is himself serving 13 years for accepting bribes in exchange for favorable outcomes in other trials. Shortly after Melissa's conviction, her defense attorney was hired by that DA at a higher than usual rate, as was his wife. Meanwhile, Melissa's execution date is set for April 27th, 2022. To learn more and get involved, visit: Sign the petition at: https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/stop-execution-of-innocent-melissa-lucio-texas/ If you live in Texas, call Cameron County DA Saenz to ask that Melissa's execution date be withdrawn: 956-300-3881 OR Call Governor Abbott to tell him that you support clemency for Melissa Lucio: 956-446-2866 Social Media Toolkit: https://innocenceproject.org/social-media-toolkit-stop-execution-melissa-lucio-texas/ https://lavaforgood.com/with-jason-flom/ Wrongful Conviction is a production of Lava for Good™ Podcasts in association with Signal Co. No1.

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