This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans — and engages with them — about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues. 

Appeals court rejects finding that Texas death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent

by Ayden Runnels, The Texas Tribune
September 24, 2026

The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals on Thursday struck down a lower court’s finding that death row inmate Melissa Lucio is innocent of the 2008 death of her 2-year-old daughter.

Lucio has spent 18 years on death row after being convicted of killing her daughter, Mariah Alvarez. But questions about Lucio’s possible innocence have lingered for years, stemming from questions on the origin of Mariah’s fatal head trauma: from abuse or an accidental fall down the stairs.

The appeals court stayed Lucio’s execution in 2022 to allow a lower court to review four claims that suppressed evidence had contributed to her conviction. After reviewing her appeal, a district judge recommended overturning her sentence and declared Lucio “actually innocent” in two separate rulings in 2024.

In Wednesday’s ruling, the Court of Criminal Appeals cast doubt on her claims and said the lower-court rulings relied too heavily on Lucio’s interpretation of events and not the prosecution’s case.

“We decline to adopt any of the habeas court’s findings and conclusions, which exclusively reflect Applicant’s interpretation of the evidence and are often unsupported,” the court’s order said.

Any appeal on the court’s ruling would go to the U.S. Supreme Court. If her exoneration holds, Lucio would be the first woman declared innocent from Texas death row, joining 18 exonerated men since the death penalty was reinstituted in 1976.

This is a developing story.

This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.