John —

Yesterday marks 15 years since Melissa Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, died after a tragic, accidental fall down a flight of stairs.

Within hours of her baby’s death, Melissa — who was pregnant with twins — was taken into police custody and aggressively interrogated by police. After five hours of coercion, she eventually just told them what they wanted to hear so the questioning would stop. She was later convicted of murdering her daughter and sentenced to death. Melissa faces execution on April 27 for an accident.

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Today, Melissa’s legal team filed two separate motions in the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to remove Judge Gabriela Garcia, who is assigned to her case, and District Attorney Luis Saenz because two key members of Melissa’s original defense team now work for them.

Assistant District Attorney Peter Gilman and Judge Garcia’s court administrator, Irma Gilman, previously represented Melissa at her 2008 trial. “Judge Garcia’s and D.A. Saenz’s roles in this case have the effect of obstructing Melissa Lucio’s access to evidence,” said one of Melissa’s attorneys, Tivon Schardl, of the Texas Federal Defender. “Texas law automatically disqualifies Judge Garcia and D.A. Saenz. And both circumstances constitute due process violations under the 14th Amendment,” Schardl added.

Take a moment today to read more about the two motions [[link removed] We have less than 70 days to stop an irreversible injustice.

You can also text SAVEMELISSA to 97016 to join the effort.

We deeply appreciate your support on this.

With gratitude,

— The Innocence Project Team

P.S. Show your support for Melissa by buying Save Melissa merch:

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The Innocence Project works to free the innocent, prevent wrongful convictions, and create fair, compassionate, and equitable systems of justice for everyone. Founded in 1992 by Barry C. Scheck and Peter J. Neufeld at the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law at Yeshiva University, the organization is now an independent nonprofit. Our work is guided by science and grounded in antiracism.

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