Melissa Lucio, the Texas mother of 14 whom many believe was wrongly convicted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter in 2008 on the basis of an ambiguous confession, is likely to get a stay of execution, Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz told a hearing yesterday. Saenz, who has the power to unilaterally withdraw the execution request, initially said he stood by the decision to kill Lucio, whose campaign has attracted the support of Kim Kardashian, on April 27; but later, he said he believed the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals would stop the execution, saying: “If defendant Lucio does not get a stay by a certain day, then I will do what I have to do and stop it.” Lucio’s team was reportedly skeptical of Saenz’s pledge after the hearing, but State Rep. Jeff Leach said: “My understanding of his remarks to the committee were that if we don’t get a stay or clemency issued… then he will step in and withdraw his request for an execution date. That was unequivocal to the committee, and we got it on tape.” Lucio’s lawyers have argued that she was coerced into a confession on the day her toddler died, and five of the 12 jurors who sentenced her have since come forward to express their doubts about the prosecutors’ case.
