After 15 years incarcerated for the accidental death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah Lucio, Melissa Lucio is facing execution on April 27th. 

For those who aren’t aware, The Innocence Project is a nonprofit organization that works to free the innocent and prove wrongful convictions. They are currently working on Melissa Lucio’s behalf to fight for her freedom. Although the Innocence Project is working diligently, time is of the essence. On February 15th, 2007, Lucio’s daughter, Mariah Lucio, had taken a fall down the stairs when they were moving homes. Mariah had walked away with what they thought were no serious injuries and just some bruises. She seemed fine, but two days later, she wouldn’t wake up from a nap. When the emergency responders showed up after Lucio called 911, they started to make some assumptions and misjudgments without knowing the fall was at their old home, an apartment that could only be accessible by a 14-step staircase. 

That day initially started to shape into Melissa Lucio’s fate. The police were fixated on Lucio. They criticized her, told her she was a bad mother, and intimidated her even though she claimed 100 times that she didn’t abuse and kill her daughter. When it got to the point where the interrogation became neverending, Lucio being pregnant, exhausted, grieving, and afraid, she said, “I guess I did it.” The State of Texas has no physical evidence connecting Lucio to supposedly abusing Mariah or any of her 12 children. For instance, her children even claimed on thousands of pages with Child Protective Services that Lucio was never violent with them. Yet, she was convicted on her statements during the mentally abusive five-hour interview the night her daughter had died. 

With only 15 days left till the execution, she and her 14 children are still pleading with the Texas Governor to stop the execution. Unfortunately, Melissa Lucio is one of many women who have not just been wrongfully convicted but also have been taken advantage of by police officers. There’s currently a petition on innocenceproject.org trying to stop the execution of the innocent woman. Even if being far away from Texas, you can still help by reposting any information on social media and signing the petition. If you’re interested in helping in the fight, visit https://innocenceproject.org/petitions/stop-execution-of-innocent-melissa-lucio-texas/.

There are so many other women besides Melissa Lucio who need help and even with just a click, it could save someone’s life. The innocence project is full of intriguing stories waiting to be read.