Melissa Lucio’s execution delayed by Texas appeals court

By JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas appeals court on Monday delayed the execution of Melissa Lucio amid growing doubts about whether she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter. Lucio’s effort to halt her execution has garnered the support of lawmakers, celebrities and even some of the jurors who sentenced her to death. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals granted a request by Lucio’s lawyers for a stay so a lower court can review her claims that new evidence would exonerate her. It was not immediately known when the lower court might begin reviewing her case. Lucio had been set for lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah in Harlingen.