Lawyers hope new evidence can stop Texas woman’s execution

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — Lawyers for a Texas woman who’s denied she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter are hopeful new evidence will stop her execution. Melissa Lucio is set to receive a lethal injection April 27 for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah. Her lawyers say Lucio’s history of sexual and physical abuse led to her giving an unreliable confession. They hope to persuade the state’s Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to either grant an execution reprieve or commute her sentence. The Texas Attorney General’s Office says Lucio’s lawyers haven’t presented evidence that supports her acquittal. Lucio’s case is getting support from former jurors who now doubt their conviction and from more than 80 state lawmakers.