Absolute Documentaries brings you the best of entertaining and fascinating documentaries for free. Melissa Elizabeth Lucio (born June 18, 1969) is the first woman of Hispanic descent to be sentenced to death in the U.S. state of Texas. Their names are:Darlie Routier, Kimberly Cargil, Brittany Holberg, Erica Sheppard, and Linda Carty.---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Music CreditsSuspense Action by Audionautix is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Artist: http://audionautix.com/Machinations by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100510Artist: http://incompetech.com/The Temperature of the Air on the Bow of the Kaleetan by Chris Zabriskie is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)Source: http://chriszabriskie.com/uvp/Artist: http://chriszabriskie.com/Prelude No. 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. As of January 1, 2022, the NAACP Legal Defense and Educational Fund said there were 50 women on death row across the United States. At times, they thought Frank veered into irrational behavior. [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. Frank was arrested and charged with three counts of first degree murder. 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. I'm responsible. 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. She has maintained her innocence, and Cornell Law School professor Sandra Babcock has called the prosecution "by far the weakest capital case I've ever seen". At the time of the murders Antoinette Frank was working for the New Orleans Police Department as an officer. [9] She was then told by Escalon: "Right now, it looks like you're a cold-blooded killer. FREEDOM TUBE 3.64K subscribers Subscribe 630K views 2. Linda Carty and Melissa Lucio are imprisoned in Texas. 13 Best Murder Documentaries on Netflix Right Now - The Cinemaholic They are often seen sleeping in a park near Zayala Elementary School. She received a lethal injection at a prison in Terre Haute, Indiana, after a last-minute . Additionally, court documents state that the emergency room physician said he had not seen a case of child abuse worse than Mariah's. [4] As of 2022, Lucio is being held on death row[14] at the Mountain View Unit in Gatesville, Texas. His main tip-off had been using Williams' Chevron credit card at a Chevron station in Gretna just minutes after the robbery and murders. ITV is looking into the unique story of Linda Carty in a new one-off documentary, British Grandma on Death Row with Susanna Reid. 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. We decided to follow five of them. Many potential applicants were shut out due to a requirement that all officers be residents of New Orleans a requirement that was only changed in 2014. - YouTube 0:00 / 1:25:47 THIS DEATH ROW DOCUMENTARY WILL CHANGE YOU FOREVER! Frank was taken to police headquarters for additional questioning, where she later confessed to the crimes along with Lacaze. "[20], In January 2022, Cameron County officials signed an execution warrant for Lucio. She did fall down. The Evers were devout Christians who enjoyed gathering for family meals, holding group prayers, and living a quiet life. Antoinette Frank - Wikipedia According to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice: On May 16, 2001, Carty and three co-defendants invaded a home and kidnapped a 25-year-old female and her newborn son. 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. [6][failed verification] According to Lucio, Mariah had sustained the injuries when she fell down a flight of stairs two days earlier. 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. Her brother Rene movingly describes her childhood traumas and problems with addiction. Tonight's episode saw Good Morning Britain host Susanna travel to. Life On Death Row - Prison Documentary 2017 - video Dailymotion They found various items of baby paraphernalia.[3]. Frank had sometimes worked there off-duty as a security guard. The association between Frank and Lacaze became noticeable after other police officers witnessed Lacaze driving her car, and even observed him moving her police unit at the scene of an accident she was investigating. Medical evidence indicated that the cause of death was likely cystic kidney disease or sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Her father died when she was an infant, and the family moved to the Rio Grande Valley, where her mother had grown up, when she was a toddler. [34], In 2012, she appeared on a segment of Werner Herzog's series On Death Row, broadcast on the Discovery Channel program Investigation Discovery. Taiwan Film Festival Edinburgh . Whether youre into true crime, stories from around the world, family and social life, science or psychology, weve got you covered with must-see full-length documentaries every week. While some of them hope to have their cases reviewed. The execution . 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. Lucio, 53, is a mum of 14 Credit: AP. She emigrated to the United States in 1982 and is a United States citizen. [21][22] An appellate court later overturned the new trial order for Lacaze. On 26 February 2010, Carty appealed to the U.S. Supreme Court, in which the British government filed an amicus curiae brief. Yarris' accounts of his life, what got him to death row, and what it's like to be an inmate are so captivating that you'll forget he is the only person featured in this entire prison . Brenda was a good student who always earned above-average grades. Carty asked Hernandez to write a letter for her because she did not want the letter to be in her own handwriting. 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. Beyond the Headlines: The Watts Family Tragedy, TV14 Crime, Documentaries TV Series (2020), Beyond the Headlines: The Jennifer Dulos Story, TV14 Documentaries, Award Shows & Events TV Series (2021), Secret Life of a Gang Girl: The Untold Story, TV14 Crime, Documentaries TV Series (2019), TVMA Documentaries, Drama Movie (2021). Lucio was addicted to cocaine and tested positive shortly after Mariah was born; this prompted authorities to place her children in foster care. 60 women are waiting for their execution on death row. Lucio was married at the age of 16 and had her first five children with Guadalupe Lucio. Fellow exonerees, journalists, lawyers and activists applauded for Butler-Smith - and for Lucio, an innocent woman still on death row. My gut told me that it was all messed up., Jason Flom, the founder of Lava Records who is an Innocence Project board member and the creator of the podcast Wrongful Conviction told Variety that the awful case of Melissa Lucio is an appalling example of just how broken our criminal legal system truly is., She was a victim, Flom went on, of a vicious and corrupt prosecutor who himself is currently serving time in federal prison [Armando Villalobos was convicted of bribery and extortion in 2014 for accepting over $100,000 in exchange for favorable outcomes in criminal trials and is currently serving a 13-year sentence in prison]; an incompetent and quite possibly compromised defense attorney; junk science; and above alla society in which the odds were stacked against her from birth., A court document highlights the horrific social conditions that afflicted Melissa and her children: The familys water has been turned off for a month. The victim subsequently died of suffocation, but the baby was found unharmed. Carty has appealed her conviction,[6][7][8] with her most recent petition to the United States Supreme Court for a writ of certiorari being denied by the Supreme Court on November 13, 2018. Who Is Melissa Lucio, Facing Execution in Texas 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]. Japanese Reviews Documentary Review: Okinawa/Santos (2020) by Yoju Matsubayashi. [24] They assert that no scientific evidence exists that establishes that she was at the scene of the crime,[5] although her fingerprints were found in the car containing the victim's body. To get in touch please email owned-enquiries@littledotstudios.com. In police uniform, Frank exited the squad car and told Wallace and Stevens to get out and go to the back of the car. Despite his involvement in the altercation, Bryant was never questioned by police, and he never gave a formal statement.[4]. Frank refused to discuss her relationship with Lacaze during the DOC investigation, except to say that she was trying to help him. During her litigation, Lucio earned notoriety as the first Hispanic woman on. As the two were leaving the party, a verbal altercation between Stevens and Lacaze ensued, but Wallace suggested they leave. [8] She admitted to having spanked Mariah, but denied ever having abused her, which she repeated more than 100 times. A psychiatrist retained by the state disagreed that Frank showed symptoms of trauma; he agreed with the diagnosis of narcissistic personality disorder with antisocial tendencies given to Frank by doctors at the Louisiana Correctional Institute for Women. DEATH. Van Tassel has directed more than 45 documentary films over the last 15 years for major television programs. Lisa Montgomery - the only female inmate on federal death row in the US - has been executed for murder. Melissa Lucio execution: Texas court provides time to prove innocence 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. The first is accused of kidnapping and killing her neighbor to abduct her baby. DEATH ROW U.S.A. - WOMEN (6) - TEXAS - YouTube The broadcaster . [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. Child Protective Services had previously investigated Lucio for allegations of child neglect, and they reported that Lucio's youngest children were often left in the care of their teenaged siblings. According to Stevens, Wallace rushed Lacaze, and the two men began fighting. Lisa Montgomery: US executes only woman on federal death row The 20 Most Notorious Women on Death Row - Home - Stay at Home Mum Frank then told the man that "Lacaze was the good guy" and that Wallace was the one causing the problems. Death Row Family (2017) by Yuki Kobayashi. ", "Texas mother is set for execution as evidence suggests she did not kill her child", "I voted to sentence Melissa Lucio to death. DEATH ROW U.S.A. - WOMEN (6) - TEXAS Marley Records 14.1K subscribers Subscribe 458 65K views 5 years ago ***** Update August 1, 2019 - From Death Penalty Information Center - Melissa Lucio. Prior to the murders, others testified that Frank and Lacaze would pull over and rob motorists while in a squad car. Bryant ordered Wallace to drop the gun, which he did immediately and was restrained; Lacaze then lunged toward Wallace, but Bryant grabbed him. Meyers testified that Carty did not appear to be pregnant. The United Kingdom contends in its amicus curiae brief[23] in the US Supreme Court that it regards the US as having breached its obligations under international law. 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. The women on death row are housed at the Mountain View Unit. When is Darlie Routier due to be executed? | The Sun [25] Lacaze is serving his sentence at the Louisiana State Penitentiary ("Angola") in West Feliciana Parish. The filmmaker added that it is hard to imagine how traumatic a death sentence is for a family and the collateral damage it creates. HOUSTON During hours of relentless questioning, Melissa Lucio more than 100 times had denied fatally beating her 2-year-old daughter. McDermott is the second woman in California sentenced to death penalty after the state reinstated . The boy then responded: "No, I saw her fall. She borrowed a patrol car and returned to the scene. Lucio's case was the subject of a 2020 documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa. The State of Texas vs. Melissa - Hulu The brief states that Lucio's subdued behavior and acquiescence during interrogation were the result of prior trauma as a survivor of abuse. US prisons are filled with countless Melissa Lucios. Thats a fact. The Women of Death Row | Listen to Podcasts On Demand Free | TuneIn Vu family stays because of the kindness of the people of New Orleans", "Blue on Blue: Murder, Madness and Betrayal in the NOPD", "State v. Frank, 957 So. [26] The Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles has the option to recommend clemency to the Governor of Texas. The prosecutions principal evidence against Melissa was a videotaped confession she made while in police custody. Newly released on Amazon and other streaming platforms, the unsettling documentary by French director Sabrina Van Tassel raises questions about the conviction of Melissa Lucio, the first. 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. Currently at a press conference where lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are discussing clemency for Melissa Lucio, who has been sentenced to death on April 27th. She has mainly focused on social issues such as underage sex trafficking, children in ultra-right-wing movements, women in prison and the Holocaust. No hidden fees, equipment rentals, or installation appointments. As early as August 1993, Frank's superiors wanted to send her back to the academy for further training. RELATED: Family of woman on death row claims she's innocent, pleads for her release. The Fear of 13 is definitely one of the best prison documentaries out there, narrated entirely by Nick Yarris, an inmate on death row. In 2020, Hulu produced the mentioned documentary, The State of Texas vs. Melissa, which detailed how she could be innocent. This appeal was rejected on September 19, 2009. 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. [9][28][10] The British government filed an amicus brief in her support. In this chilling absolute documentary, Trevor meets inmate Fredrick Baer who killed a mother and her 5-year-old child in cold-blooded murder who is still hoping to escape the lethal injection on death row and avoid capital punishment. 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. Ind. Save your data and watch offline. pic.twitter.com/vfb4QeOtY1, The lawmakers are among dozens of Texas legislators who have signed a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles asking it to act in Melissa Lucio's case. 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. [15] In a new round of appeals, defense attorneys argued they had had too little time to review the voluminous record before the deadline for filing appeals. [15], A 2011 appeal against the conviction was denied by the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals. Shes a mother of 14 children, with a history of drug abuse and a life of poverty, who is accused of abusing her younger daughter to death.. Antoinette Frank applied to the New Orleans Police Department (NOPD) in early 1993. Lucio was convicted of killing her daughter, Mariah Alvarez, 15 years ago in Harlingen, Texas. Then she directed them to a location where both cars were found: the live baby was in one, and the suffocated victim was in the back of the other. Cancel anytime. American woman controversially sentenced to death, Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, List of death row inmates in the United States, List of people scheduled to be executed in the United States, List of women on death row in the United States, "Woman with Lubbock ties to be executed, many take up the cause to stop it", "Melissa Lucio is scheduled to be executed for a crime that may not have occurred", "Is Texas Sending Melissa Lucio to Die for a Crime That Never Happened? 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". Now up to six members of your household can have separate profiles so that favorites and recommendations are unique to each viewer. 60 women are waiting for their execution on death row. In 2007, Melissa Lucio 's 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, died after a tragic, accidental fall down a flight of stairs. She has also been charged with capital murder in the death of her six-year-old son, Devon, who was murdered at the same time as Damon. more Director: Sabrina Van Tassel Documentaries Movie 2020 5.1 hd Stream thousands of shows and movies, with plans starting at $7.99/month. 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. Alabama Department of Corrections 301 South Ripley Street P.O. In May, however, the Louisiana Supreme Court issued a 90-day stay of execution effective June 10 pending ongoing appeals. But worn down from a lifetime of abuse and the grief of. [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. Kim Kardashian shows support for Texas woman on death row They also argued that a judge's order to exclude expert testimony on the effects of trauma had "deprived Melissa of the only means she had of explaining that, notwithstanding her demeanor and self-incriminating statements, she was innocent of her daughter's murder. September 27, 2021. She stated that he was often addicted to drugs and alcohol and was physically abusive. 8. Linda Anita Carty (born 5 October 1958) is a Kittitian-American[a] former schoolteacher who is on death row in Texas. [22][23][24][25] However, on May 3, 2010, the Court refused to review the case, denying certiorari. Police then telephoned Carty and asked her to meet with them. Parking in the rear, Frank entered through the restaurant's back door and made her way through the kitchen to the dining room, where Chau waited for help at the front door. Their decision, made public November 25, 2008 effectively voided the death warrant signed by Judge Marullo in September. [4], Mariah Alvarez was born to Melissa Lucio and Robert Alvarez in September 2004. Carty told her husband on 15 May that she would have a baby boy the next day. Frank had taken a statement from Lacaze after he was shot on the street, and initially got closer to him in hopes of turning his life around. We decided to follow five of them. Williams was a colleague of Frank who had been working as the security guard that night to supplement his policeman's salary. Lacaze was re-sentenced to life imprisonment without parole on December 13, 2019. Lucio was convicted in 2008, and her execution date is April 27, when she is set to receive a lethal injection. Medical experts later provided evidence that the pathologist who performed the autopsy missed evidence of sepsis in the blood and pneumonia in both lungs. The baby stopped breathing, and resuscitation attempts left bruises that led police to accuse Butler of child abuse. Lawmakers are saying this would add more pain to Lucios family, after already suffering the death of Mariah 15 years ago. 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. 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. I did not know what to expect. She observes sadly that I often think about my daughter Mariah. Moore is awaiting execution in North Carolina for her boyfriend's 1986 arsenic poisoning. Melissa Lucio was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in Texas. 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. See production, box office & company info. For ten years she has been awaiting her fate, and she now faces her last appeal.more, Melissa Lucio was the first Hispanic woman sentenced to death in More. I realized there had been no investigation whatsoever, that none of her family were allowed to testify at her trial. 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. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Box 301501 Montgomery, Alabama 36130-1501 webmaster@doc.alabama.gov At that time, Wallace broke away, ran, and picked up a TEC-9 semi-automatic weapon off the grass. The California Supreme Court found that his conviction was the product of extensive, pervasive, impactful, and false forensic testimony. The State of Texas vs. Melissa is a telling and compelling snapshot of the brutality of everyday life in capitalist America. Lacaze had slipped behind Williams and shot him in the neck, severing his spinal cord and instantly paralyzing him. 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.