A court has given a stay of execution to a woman accused of murdering her two-year-old daughter.
Melissa Lucio, from Texas, was due to be put to death by lethal injection for the 2007 murder of her daughter, Mariah.
However, following an appeal by Lucio's lawyers, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals has granted a request for a delay.
Advert
This will give the lower court an opportunity to review claims that new evidence in the 53-year-old's case would exonerate her.
The ruling was made just minutes before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was due to decide on a clemency application to either commute her death sentence or grant a 120-day reprieve.
The ruling stated that there was 'overwhelming evidence that the judgment this Court set for execution on April 27, 2022, represents a miscarriage of justice'.
Advert
In a statement following the announcement, Lucio thanked those who have backed her in her fight for freedom.
She said: "I thank God for my life. I am grateful the Court has given me the chance to live and prove my innocence. Mariah is in my heart today and always.
"I am grateful to have more days to be a mother to my children and a grandmother to my grandchildren."
Her statement went on: "Either way I will get my freedom soon, I will go home to my family or go to heaven. If I get a new trial, I am ready for the fight.
Advert
"I am not the same person I was in that interrogation room. I would stand up for my rights today. I want other survivors of domestic violence and assault to stand up for their rights too."
It is not yet known when the review into the case will start.
Lucio has always maintained here innocence regarding her conviction for killing her two-year-old daughter.
Advert
She claims that her little girl died of injuries sustained in an accidental fall down the stairs two days before her death.
According to Innocence Project attorney Vanessa Potkin, the family were packing up and preparing to move to a new home when they couldn't hear Mariah playing any more, with Lucio discovering her daughter at the bottom of the stairs with a bleeding lip but 'otherwise didn't appear to be seriously injured'.
"Melissa didn't observe the fall herself. She saw Mariah at the bottom with a bleeding lip, but she otherwise didn't appear to be seriously injured. One of Mariah's other siblings witnessed the fall and later, when interviewed by Child Protective Services after Mariah's death, stated that he saw his sibling fall down the stairs," Potkin said.
The Guardian reported that following her arrest, Lucio was subjected to the 'Reid Technique' of interrogation, which has played a part in a number of wrongful convictions in the US.
Advert
Over the course of six hours following her daughter's death, officers allegedly screamed in Lucio's face they had 'lots of evidence' she was to blame and she 'had to know' what had happened, only to abruptly switch tone and gently suggest they could 'put this to rest' if she confessed to causing the toddler's death.
During her interview Lucio insisted more than 100 times that she was innocent until hours of interrogation produced her confession: "I don’t know what you want me to say, I’m responsible for it. I guess I did it."
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence contact Cruse Bereavement Care via their national helpline on 0808 808 1677
Topics: US News, Crime, True crime