John —

Earlier today, Melissa Lucio's legal team filed a petition asking Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to grant her clemency.

Melissa is scheduled to be executed on April 27 — that means we have less than 40 days to stop it and save her life, but we need your help.

It’s critical that we get as many eyes as possible on Melissa’s case and bring in more people to join this fight. Will you help spread the word by sharing this breaking news on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram?

In 2008, Melissa was wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter Mariah based on a biased and inadequate investigation and a shockingly poor defense.

Mariah died in 2007, two days after accidentally falling down a flight of stairs. Police took Melissa into custody immediately and began aggressively questioning her for five hours on the night of her daughter’s death. Exhausted and in shock from the loss of her child, Melissa said, “I guess I did it,” and falsely took responsibility for some of Mariah’s injuries to get police to end the interrogation. In court, her words were misinterpreted as a confession.

Melissa suffered a lifetime of sexual abuse and domestic violence that led to post-traumatic stress disorder. Studies have shown that people who’ve experienced abuse like that are especially vulnerable to the police’s coercive interrogation tactics.

The truth is, there is simply too much doubt in this case. If we want to prevent Texas from executing an innocent person, we need as many people as possible to join this fight.

Help spread the word about Melissa’s case by sharing the news of her clemency filing on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

Thank you for your help,

Vanessa Potkin
Director of Special Litigation
Innocence Project


P.S. If you’re in Texas, we encourage you to attend the 26th Annual Cesar E. Chavez March for Justice in San Antonio on Saturday, March 26, 2022, beginning at 8:30 a.m. CST. Details can be found here. Bring your Save Melissa signs and join supporters.