France on Friday called on U.S. authorities to “suspend the execution” of Mexican-American Melissa Lucio, sentenced in a controversial trial to capital punishment for the death of her daughter.
Mariah, her two-year-old daughter, was found dead in her bruised home days after falling down the stairs.
Since then, his mother, whose execution is scheduled in the state of Texas for April 27, claims his innocence.
“France recalls its constant opposition to the death penalty, anywhere and under any circumstances,” the deputy spokeswoman for the French Foreign Ministry said.
Former face-to-face candidate Christiane Taubira said a few days ago that Lucio is probably “the victim of a miscarriage of justice.”
A mother of 12 children, pregnant with twins at the time, Melissa Lucio had a life marked by physical and sexual assaults, drug addictions and economic instability. Police immediately suspected that he beat his daughter.
Read more: The controversial case of Melissa Lucio, the first Latina who could be executed in Texas for the death of her two-year-old daughter
However, a physical disability of Mariah that made her unstable when walking, and could explain her fall, was not taken into account by experts, according to Lucio’s defense, which also argued that the bruises may have been caused by a blood circulation disorder.
None of Melissa’s children have accused her of being violent. Meanwhile, the prosecutor who promoted the case was later sentenced to prison for corruption and extortion.
Personalities such as star Kim Kardashian have mobilized in her favor and numerous media in Latin America picked up her story.
She is the first woman of Hispanic origin sentenced to death in Texas, the state that has carried out the most executions in the twenty-first century.
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