[6], Frank's trial began on September 5, 1995, also before Marullo. Subscribe to see a little more of the world with our premium documentaries. In a 2005 retrospective, Chuck Hustmyre said, "As for those human bones unearthed beneath Franks house, so far, authorities have made no serious effort to identify them. At that point, Wallace saw Lacaze and noticed he was holding a gun. She was hired on February 7, 1993, and graduated from the police academy on February 28. Carty appealed to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals. [17] However, yet another lower court state judge, ruled in October 2010 that Marullo had to be recused from the Frank and Lacaze cases because it was unclear if he had been open with the defense teams about his own surprising connection to the gun used in the restaurant murders. The speakers at Thursday's press conference included Reps. Jeff Leach (R-Allen) and Joe Moody (D-El Paso), who co-chair the Texas House Criminal Justice Reform Caucus and who were recently appointed as chair and vice-chair, respectively, of the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform. [1], Investigators initially suspected Carty after discovering that she had told people she was going to have a baby despite not appearing pregnant. RELATED: Family of woman on death row claims she's innocent, pleads for her release. An investigator with the Department of Public Safety and Corrections (DOC) believed this was the first contact between the two, although in her statement, Frank claims that they met some eight months before the murders. Linda Carty and Melissa Lucio are imprisoned in Texas. The letter cites significant doubts about "Ms. Lucios guilt, her disparate treatment compared to her husband and co-defendant, who received a four-year sentence, and the impact her execution will have on her supportive family and faith community.". [11][12] A pathologist, Dr. Norma J. Farley, testified that the childs autopsy indicated that she did not die from falling down stairs, and instead her injuries were consistent with a death from blunt force trauma. Bryant thought the officer was making a traffic stop, but as he got closer, he saw the officer and two black men fighting on the side of the road. Start Your Free Trial New subscribers only. 2007)", "State supreme court blocks ex-cop's execution date", "Antoinette Frank case to stay in Marullo's courtroom", "Kim Anh trial judge's testimony sought during appeal seeking post-conviction relief", "Death Row for Ex-Cop Who Killed Partner and 2 Others", "Victims' family in cop killing, triple murder stunned by retrial", "Rogers LaCaze granted new trial in '95 eastern New Orleans triple homicide", "Appellate court overturns new trial order for Rogers Lacaze in 1995 New Orleans triple murder", "Louisiana women's prison shuttered after flood, nearly 1,000 inmates relocated to various lockups", "Rogers Lacaze, Antoinette Frank's co-conspirator, no longer facing death after resentencing", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Antoinette_Frank&oldid=1142930935, This page was last edited on 5 March 2023, at 02:18. The family is flushing the toilets with buckets of water. She was convicted of capital murder after the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who was found to have scattered bruising in various stages of healing, as well as injuries to her head and contusions of the kidneys, lungs and spinal cord. Frank and Lacaze had been shouting at Ha and Cuong, demanding the restaurant's money, but they did not know where Chau had hidden it. ", "Her execution date looming, a mother maintains innocence in 2-year-old daughter's death", "Execution date set for Harlingen mom for murdering daughter", "Melissa Lucio execution - latest: Kim Kardashian appeals to Texas governor as juror says death sentence wrong", "Death row mum-of-14 hopes new videos could clear her of toddler's fatal fall", "Texas Set to Execute Melissa Lucio Despite Credible Claims of Innocence", "Former Cameron County District Attorney Armando Villalobos Sentenced To Federal Prison In Connection With South Texas Bribery Scheme", "Harlingen woman faces April execution for daughter's 2007 murder", "Melissa Elizabeth Lucio v. The State of Texas (concurring)", "Federal Appeals Court Overturns Mother's Conviction in Texas Child Murder Case That May Have Been an Accidental Death", "Divided Federal Appeals Court Reinstates Death Sentence for Texas Mother of Child Who May Have Died in Accidental Fall", "Court Findings of Fact and Conclusions of Law: Manuel Velez", "A Texas mother could be executed in April. [9], Officer Williams was interred in Lake Lawn Metairie Cemetery on March 7, 1995. Written and directed by Sabrina Van Tassel French-American filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassel's heart-wrenching documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa, now streaming on Hulu, chronicles the case. [13] Michael Goldberg of Baker Botts accuses Guerinot, who never won a death penalty case over his entire career, of failing to call any witnesses who might have persuaded the jury that she did not deserve execution. I'm responsible. [4], Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. This film not only depicts the America of the less fortunate, but also the fate of a woman who was a victim from the day she was born, a woman who has been crushed by the American judicial system., Confined behind a glass partition, wearing white prison garb, her face washed out in the artificial lighting, Melissa appears stunned: I dont understand how the court system did this to me. Further on she comments: I had never been arrested before. See the full list of inmates currently on Death Row within the Arkansas Division of Correction including date of sentence. 2d 724 (La. [2], On November 25, 1994, Frank handled an incident in which Rogers Lacaze, a known drug dealer, had been shot. [16], In September 2009, Frank's lawyers moved to have Judge Marullo removed from her ongoing post-conviction appeals on grounds of bias, given that he had already signed two death warrants for her. During her litigation, Lucio earned notoriety as the first Hispanic woman on. On February 17, 2007, paramedics were called to the Lucio residence because two-year-old Mariah was unresponsive and not breathing. In a March 2022 letter to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and to Governor Abbott, eighty-three members of the Texas House of Representatives, including both Democrats and Republicans, signed a letter stating that executing Lucio would be "a miscarriage of justice". Watched this thinking that the women where hard done to but then when you search the web you find out that they all had overwhelming evidence against them which is not mentioned I the documentary. Chau told Frank she knew what she had done and cried to the officers that Frank had committed the crimes. Tonight's episode saw Good Morning Britain host Susanna travel to. The Fear of 13. Stay current with additional news, entertainment, and lifestyle programming from American Heroes Channel, BET Her, Boomerang, CNBC World, Cooking Channel, Crime + Investigation, Destination America, Discovery Family, Discovery Life, Magnolia Network, Military History Channel, MTV2, MTV Classic, Nick Toons,Science, and Teen Nick. Written and directed by Sabrina Van Tassel. Melissas family, and some of her children, felt so railroaded by the justice system, they didnt trust anyone anymore. The director further explained that Melissas children have been placed all over Texas. Lacaze had slipped behind Williams and shot him in the neck, severing his spinal cord and instantly paralyzing him. In February 2002, she was sentenced to death for the abduction and murder in 2001 of 25-year-old Joana Rodriguez in order to steal Rodriguez's newborn son. The victim's husband testified that while the intruders were in his home, one of them answered his cell phone and said, "We are inside here. Brenda was a good student who always earned above-average grades. Earlier this month, the popular HBO show "Last Week Tonight" discussed her case in an episodeon wrongful convictions. Never before and probably, never again will such unlimited access ever be given again.Brace yourself to go on an extremely emotional journey as a man, considered by everyone, including the PRISONS WARDEN, to be completely innocent is fighting to stop a seemingly, unstoppable execution.If you would like to end capital punishment in your country (U.S) or any country, visit https://reprieve.org/ to find out what you can do.THIS VIDEO HAS BEEN UPLOADED TO TEACH/EDUCATE THE PUBLIC ON THE ULTIMATE PUNISHMENT THAT IS CARRIED OUT IN THEIR NAME \u0026 WHAT IT REALLY MEANS. Her fellow officers thought she was rather shy, had no idea what police work really entailed, and lacked the decisiveness to be a good officer. [7] Frank believed Williams was shortchanging her on hours and pay at the Kim Anh, and wanted revenge. ", "Texas mother is set for execution as evidence suggests she did not kill her child", "I voted to sentence Melissa Lucio to death. In an interview for a documentary broadcast by the UK's Channel 4, The British Woman on Death Row (November 28, 2011), the United Kingdom's Consul General in Houston at the time, Paul Lynch, stated that this breach:[32]. The filmmaker added that it is hard to imagine how traumatic a death sentence is for a family and the collateral damage it creates. [27] On April 17, 2022, in the main segment of another episode, called "Police Interrogations", Lucio's case was mentioned again as having every hallmark of a false confession.[28]. According to the Death Penalty Information Center, women are rarely sentenced to death in the United States and executions of women are even rarer. Medical evidence showed that the girl had never been sexually assaulted and may actually have died from being hit by a car.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Texas Death Row houses at the moment 5 women. [4], Two men who claimed they met Lacaze at a party on February 4, 1995, John Stevens and Anthony Wallace, testified in court. Her mother also reflects on their strained relationship. May 15, 2018. On 15 May, Carty told Sherry Bancroft, an employee at Public Storage, that she had indeed had the baby and that he was at home with his father. Carty's mother testified that her daughter did not mention that she was pregnant when they talked on 13 May or the following days, and Carty did not appear to be pregnant around that time. We followed them down the green line.Subscribe Free Documentary Channel for free: https://bit.ly/2YJ4XzQJoin the club and become a Free Documentary Patron: https://www.patreon.com/freedocumentaryInstagram: https://instagram.com/free.documentary/Facebook: https://bit.ly/2QfRxbGTwitter: https://bit.ly/2QlwRiI#FreeDocumentary #Documentary #WomenOnDeathRowFree Documentary is dedicated to bringing high-class documentaries to you on YouTube for free. Lucio is scheduled to be executed on April 27. Fellow exonerees, journalists, lawyers and activists applauded for Butler-Smith - and for Lucio, an innocent woman still on death row. Dive in these women's lives full of horror, hope, death, and love, in one of the most Read all60 women are waiting for their execution on death row. The letter said Carty was being set up by "Chris and Zeb," who borrowed Carty's car and put the baby in it. If we had been allowed, and given the opportunity to support Linda Carty, if she had been given all the support to which she was entitled and which she deserved something entirely different, I believe, would have happened at that trial and Linda Carty would not now be facing a death penalty. Carty's fingerprints were in both cars. Additional terms apply. Following Mariah's death, Lucio was arrested and questioned for seven hours by Texas Ranger Victor Escalon without a lawyer present, and without receiving food or water. Faces of Death Row | The Texas Tribune Faces of Death Row By Jolie McCullough and Ben Hasson Last Updated: Feb. 16, 2023 Here is a look at the 185 inmates currently on Texas' death row.. [13], Lucios defense argued that Mariah's injuries were from falling down the stairs, and that Lucio's psychological functioning contributed to her conflicting reports given to authorities. Frank refused to discuss anything regarding the murders - every time the investigator asked her a question, she told him to "look it up in the record" or asserted her innocence. We decided to follow five of them. "[5] "Anderson, Robinson, and Williams, the other co-defendants in the kidnapping and murder, were given prison terms, but none received the death penalty after testifying against Carty. Then both Stevens and Frank also jumped into the fray, and the weapon discharged. [21] Lucio subsequently petitioned for clemency. The authorities in Texas failed to inform the British Consulate until after Carty's conviction and sentencing. [30][33], Carty is presently being held on death row at the Mountain View Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Hanging was means of execution from 1819 to 1923. The first is accused of kidnapping and killing her neighbor to abduct her baby, while the second allegedly mistreated her two-year-old daughter. The women on death row are housed at the Mountain View Unit. On the day before the murder, 15 May 2001, Carty told her neighbor, Florence Meyers, that she was pregnant and that the baby would be born the next day. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of. In the similar case of Manuel Velez, a man who was initially convicted for murdering a one-year-old baby and whose death sentence was overturned after further investigation, Farley's conclusions had also been contradicted by other medical experts. [1][2][3] On occasion, though, she did distinguish herself, winning "Officer of the Month" awards from the local Kiwanis Club for her work in the community. Depicting an elderly woman and man with stern expressions, they remind the viewer of the North Korean leaders, rather than those of a free country. However, the United Kingdom lacks any legal forum to obtain redress for this breach. The parole board was scheduled to vote on Lucio's clemency petition two days before the execution. In cases like this where you have a child death, there are experts that come in and do research and analysis, her attorneys decided to go to trial without allowing those experts to complete their work, said White. Who are they? The motive is to collect her roommate's $100,000 mortgage insurance policy. "[24], On April 25, 2022, the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution and ordered the 138th Judicial District Court of Cameron County to consider new evidence of Lucio's innocence in the death of her daughter. Lucio, a 53-year-old Mexican-American mum, was found guilty in 2008 of the death of her two-year-old daughter Mariah, who died in 2007 after falling down the stairs.. Now, are you a cold-blooded killer or were you a frustrated mother who just took it out on [Mariah]?" In. Kirby's ruling has no effect on Frank's conviction. In this episode of Women of Death Row, Mariel tells the story of Dame Alice Kyteler, a woman condemned and burned to death at the stake for witchcraft in Ireland on November 3, 1324. As Frank moved out of Chau's line of vision, additional gunshots were fired but then observed Frank searching where the Vus usually kept their money. As the two were leaving the party, a verbal altercation between Stevens and Lacaze ensued, but Wallace suggested they leave. The second allegedly mistreated her 2-year-old daughter. Melissa Lucio's case has gained national attention. The first is accused of kidnapping and killing her neighbor to abduct her baby. Esperanza Trevio, surrounded by family and friends, asked for the release of Lucio, her daughter, who is scheduled to be executed in April in Texas. Their trials were severed, and Lacaze was tried first on July 1721, 1995, before Judge Frank Marullo. Melissa Lucio was born in Lubbock, Texas,[2] on June 18, 1969, according to court records. But Inez's family believes otherwise. The baby stopped breathing, and resuscitation attempts left bruises that led police to accuse Butler of child abuse. [8] She admitted to having spanked Mariah, but denied ever having abused her, which she repeated more than 100 times. However, such recommendations are rare. ***** Update August 1, 2019 - From Death Penalty Information Center -Melissa Lucio gets a new trial. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Lewis, now in her 80s, is petite, sprightly and measured; on camera, she pores over old records with an unmitigated curiosity and residual anxiety over potential missed diagnoses from years before. However, she was smitten by Lacaze's "bad boy" persona, and their relationship soon turned sexual. 8. Frank heard the 911 call on her portable police radio saying that an officer was down at the Kim Anh restaurant. In 2020, Hulu produced the mentioned documentary, " The State of Texas vs. Melissa ," which detailed how she could be innocent. Japanese Reviews Documentary Review: Okinawa/Santos (2020) by Yoju Matsubayashi. Hernandez said the letter was supposed to be from someone named Oscar. Trevor McDonald enters Death Row at one of America's oldest and most notorious maximum-security prisons to meet the very people whose crimes have led to the ultimate punishment. In November of 2020, TV One debuted a movie inspired by Antoinette Frank called Blood On Her Badge Archived November 24, 2020, at the Wayback Machine. [17] While working as an informant, she provided information leading to two arrests. [18][19] No female has been executed by the State of Louisiana since Toni Jo Henry died in the State's Electric chair in 1942. The mother of 14 children, Melissa talks about her poverty-stricken, abusive background. Born in 1969, Melissa, from Harlingen in south Texas, was convicted of the murder of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah, who died of blunt-force trauma to the head on February 17, 2007. [25], A 2020 documentary by Sabrina Van Tassel titled The State of Texas vs. Melissa follows Lucio's case. That societys throwaways, all those who dont count in a country ruled by and for billionaires, have unexplored depths is underscored in a scene in which Melissa in a voiceover achingly reads a composition in the form of a letter to her mother: Watch David Norths remarks commemorating 25 years of the World Socialist Web Site and donate today. They are often seen sleeping in a park near Zayala Elementary School. Fronted by the Good Morning Britain presenter, the film will. She was scheduled for execution on April 27, 2022. We decided to follow five of them. Frank was taken to police headquarters for additional questioning, where she later confessed to the crimes along with Lacaze. As of January 1, 2016 there were 55 women on death row. The victim subsequently died of suffocation, but the baby was found unharmed. It was later revealed that the two had a sexual relationship. At the time of the murders Antoinette Frank was working for the New Orleans Police Department as an officer. [14], Forensic pathologist Dr. Thomas Young, the former chief medical examiner in Kansas City, Missouri, reviewed the case at the request of Lucio's post-conviction attorney. Prosecutors said that Mariah's injuries were the result of physical abuse, while Lucio's attorneys say that her death was caused by a fall down the stairs two days prior. [17] Her services ended when she was arrested on drug charges. It is a very unjust system you may well be on death row because you have a court-appointed attorney who doesnt have the means to defend you and a district attorneys office who has all the means in the world to get you convicted. According to court documents when the girls remains were weighed she weighed in just over thirty pounds. Women Texas Continuing an unparalleled pattern of rulings adverse to Texas death-row prisoners, a divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit has reinstated the conviction and death sentence of a mother convicted of killing her two-year-old daughter in what, the defense has argued, was actually an accidental fall. KVUE on social media: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | YouTube, Tanvi Varma on social media: Twitter| Instagram. BACKGROUND (Previous to April 25, 2022): Melissa Lucio has spent nearly 15 years on death row for the alleged murder of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. "[10], One of Lucio's sons was also questioned by law enforcement shortly after Mariah's death. [11], In 1993, a year and a half before the murders at the Kim Anh, Frank's father had stayed at her home for a time before she then reported him missing. Lucio then had seven children with Robert Alvarez. While some of them hope to have their cases reviewed. However, since she is already facing the death penalty for the Kim Anh murders, they have made no effort to try her for her father's death. Frank and Lacaze had been at the restaurant twice earlier in the night to get leftover food to eat. [21][22] An appellate court later overturned the new trial order for Lacaze. Moore is awaiting execution in North Carolina for her boyfriend's 1986 arsenic poisoning. Ind. The two men got in a car and drove several blocks until a police vehicle pulled the car over. As Williams fell, Lacaze continued to shoot him in the head and back, mortally wounding him. Was her child's death really a murder? Lynn Marie Gracey, a private investigator who worked on Melissas appeal, remarks about Gilman: I think the guy knew that he sabotaged the case so bad that he didnt want anybody to rework it, re-investigate it. No hidden fees, equipment rentals, or installation appointments. They argued that the defense needed to conduct "an investigation into the defendant's background for possible mitigating evidence." Who are they? Blanche Taylor Moore Talk Read Edit View history Blanche Kiser Taylor Moore (born February 17, 1933) is an American convicted murderer and possible serial killer from Alamance County, North Carolina. More for you. The next day, they needed only 45 minutes to recommend the death penalty. [2], On October 18, 2006, Frank's lawyers argued before the Louisiana Supreme Court that her death sentence should be overturned because she was denied state-funded experts to help prepare for the sentencing phase of the trial. On September 12, 1995, the jury needed only 22 minutes to return a guilty verdict on all countsat the time, a record for a capital murder case in New Orleans. Although Frank graduated near the top of her academy class, her tenure with the NOPD was mostly undistinguished. As Frank turned back to the restaurant dining room, Chau grabbed Quoc to hide somewhere. She was aided by her probable lover, drug dealer Rogers Lacaze. In 2020, Hulu produced the mentioned documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa, which detailed how she could be innocent. Then 42-year-old Maureen McDermott was a former nurse at County-USC Medical Center who allegedly hired a co-worker to kill her male roommate. In early May 2001, Carty and her husband separated. "She had an accident. For ten years she has been awaiting her fate, and she now faces her last appeal. "[20], In January 2022, Cameron County officials signed an execution warrant for Lucio. Since 1976, Texas has executed more people than any other state (572), more than one-third the total number (1,534) of victims of this barbaric punishment, and is one of only two states to have put anyone to death during the pandemic. Marullo's signature appeared on an order authorizing Frank to take the murder weapon from the evidence room; Marullo has long maintained the signature was forged. Eddie Rantz, the homicide detective who worked the case, believed Frank and Lacaze planned the robbery to get revenge on Williams. In her statement, she claimed that she and Lacaze were not dating and had never been intimate. She is scheduled to be executed on April 27. January 18, 2020 As of January 1, 2022, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said there were 50 women on death row across the United States. Frank refused to discuss her relationship with Lacaze during the DOC investigation, except to say that she was trying to help him. Despite this, Frank got a second chance to apply. [8] She was formally sentenced to death on October 20, 1995, and sent to Death Row at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women (LCIW) in St. Gabriel, near Baton Rouge. She was sentenced to 10 years probation,[16] on the condition she would work as a drug informant. But Ms. Lucio and her family never got to mourn the loss of her youngest daughter because, within hours of her passing, they were swept up into a nightmare that has lasted more than 14 years and torn their family apart. Lucio's sister, Sonya Valencia Alvarez, said Lucio has spent the last 15 years grieving her daughter and Lucio's son, John Vincent Lucio, said his sister died by accident when she fell down a set of stairs. Medical experts later provided evidence that the pathologist who performed the autopsy missed evidence of sepsis in the blood and pneumonia in both lungs. Detained in Arizona, Shawna Forde, head of an anti-immigration militia, was convicted, along with his accomplices, for murdering a father and his daughter. 18 by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/preludes/Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/The Voyage by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Artist: http://audionautix.com/https://youtu.be/NaxBDflXv6o#DeathRowUsa #MarleyRecords #WomenOnDeathRow Women on Death Row | Prison DocumentaryBehind Bars: South Cotabato Jail, Philippines: https://youtu.be/A8slYgeqGLwIn the United States, 54 women are \"on hold\" for the execution of their death sentence. Chau initially could see Frank looking for something in the kitchen. I realized there had been no investigation whatsoever, that none of her family were allowed to testify at her trial. Melissa Lucio was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas. Woman on Death Row at 16 Released From Prison 48:09 San Quentin State Prison - Dangerous Death Row Inmates 57:54 48:13 42:28 Death Row : The Final 24 Hours (Documentary) Bonnieevans 4:57 Teenmaar Chaandravva Interaction With Devotees At Vemulawada Temple _ Maha Shivaratri _ V6 Teenmaar TIME The NOPD was chronically short-handed; at the time, its officers were paid less than in similarly sized cities, it was losing officers faster than they could be replaced, and the ranks had been decimated by several arrests for murder and drug activity. Aggressively interrogated for close to seven hours (partially shown in the documentary), the traumatized mother was coerced to confess, according to Melissa and her attorneys. His main tip-off had been using Williams' Chevron credit card at a Chevron station in Gretna just minutes after the robbery and murders. Absolute Documentaries brings you the best of entertaining and fascinating documentaries for free. Who are they? Read the Supplemental Clemency Petition here. French-American filmmaker Sabrina Van Tassels heart-wrenching documentary The State of Texas vs. Melissa, now streaming on Hulu, chronicles the case of Melissa Lucio, the first Hispanic woman in Texas on death row, where she has languished for 13 years. Mariah was Lucio's twelfth child. In a video, a female officer asks the boy: "Did you see your sister fall down the stairs or did somebody tell you that she fell?" On the surface, she checks all the boxes of the ideal culprit. [13], Lucio was pregnant with twins at the time of Mariah's death, and authorities compelled her to place them for adoption after delivering them while in jail. Miguel Roberts/The Brownsville Herald, via Associated Press The broadcaster . Ninety percent of court cases are won by the State. The filmmaker continued: But through the film we discover who the real Melissa wasthe abuse she suffered as a child, the harshness of her life, how she was accused without any proof and interrogated for hours until she surrendered. Notifications can be turned off anytime in the browser settings. Who are they? The boy then responded: "No, I saw her fall. Hulu has acquired U.S rights to Sabrina Van Tassel's documentary 'The State of Texas vs. Melissa,' which was selected for Tribeca in 2020. . New subscribers only. Dive in these women's lives full of horror, hope, death, and love, in one of the most terrible places in the USA, death row. [3] Carty has claimed that she was framed by three men for her work as an informant with the Drug Enforcement Administration.