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EXPLAINER: Concern mounts as Melissa Lucio’s execution nears

Johnny Galvan Jr. leaves the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform hearing about death row inmate Melissa Lucio at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022, after he said he regretted his decision to sentence her to death. A bipartisan majority of the Texas House of Representatives is calling for clemency for Lucio who was convicted of capital murder in 2008 after the death of her daughter. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) John Lucio, with his wife, Michelle Lucio, prays with Jennifer Allmon, right, Executive Director of the Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops, before a hearing by the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform about his mother, death row inmate Melissa Lucio, at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. A bipartisan majority of the Texas House of Representatives is calling for clemency for Melissa Lucio who was convicted of capital murder in 2008 after the death of her daughter. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) John Lucio, with his wife, Michelle Lucio, speaks to reporters before a hearing by the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform about his mother, death row inmate Melissa Lucio, at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. A bipartisan majority of the Texas House of Representatives is calling for clemency for Melissa Lucio who was convicted of capital murder in 2008 after the death of her daughter. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) State Rep. Jeff Leach, R-Plano, questions Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz at the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform hearing about death row inmate Melissa Lucio at the Capitol, in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday, April 12, 2022. A bipartisan majority of the Texas House of Representatives is calling for clemency for Lucio who was convicted of capital murder in 2008 after the death of her daughter. (Jay Janner/Austin American-Statesman via AP) In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding her daughter Mariah, while one of her other daughters, Adriana, stands next to them. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of Mariah. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter but Lucio has long denied that, saying Mariah died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. 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. (Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP) In this undated photograph, Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is holding one of her sons, John. Lucio is set to be executed on April 27 for the 2007 death of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah. Prosecutors say Lucio fatally beat Mariah but Lucio has long denied that, saying her daughter died from injuries sustained during a fall down a flight of stairs. 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. (Photo courtesy of the family of Melissa Lucio via AP)
EXPLAINER: Concern mounts as Melissa Lucio’s execution nears