A Texas appeals court on Thursday rejected a lower court ruling that Melissa Lucio is actually innocent of capital murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter, leaving the woman on death row after nearly two decades in prison.

The sharply divided Texas Court of Criminal Appeals decision leaves Lucio facing a possible execution. She narrowly avoided execution in 2022 when the same court ordered a review of her case just two days before she was scheduled to receive a lethal injection.

Lucio, 58, was convicted of capital murder in the death of her daughter, Mariah, after the child suffered severe head trauma. Prosecutors argued that the injuries were caused by abuse.

Lucio’s defense has maintained that Mariah was not beaten but suffered an accidental fall down a steep staircase two days before her death. The claims gained further support after the appeals court ordered a trial court to review aspects of Lucio’s case.

In 2024, the original trial judge issued a 62-page ruling concluding that Lucio was “actually innocent” of capital murder. The ruling said prosecutors had presented false testimony, withheld evidence and relied on scientific evidence that was later undermined by new findings unavailable at the time of Lucio’s 2008 trial.

Prosecutors had long argued that Mariah was the victim of abuse and pointed to bruises covering the child’s body. However, during Lucio’s appeal, prosecutors acknowledged that material evidence had been withheld from the defense.

The majority of the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals disagreed with the lower court’s conclusion. The five-judge majority, in an unsigned opinion, said the trial judge had relied too heavily on Lucio’s interpretation of events rather than the prosecution’s case. Four judges dissented.

Lucio’s case has attracted support from lawmakers and prominent figures, including Kim Kardashian, who has advocated for criminal justice reform, and Amanda Knox, whose murder conviction in Italy was later overturned.

Vanessa Potkin, director of special litigation at the Innocence Project and one of Lucio’s attorneys, said her legal team would continue pursuing the case in federal court.

The decision means Lucio remains on Texas’ death row while her attorneys seek further legal review.

If Lucio is eventually exonerated, she would become the first woman declared innocent from Texas’ death row, joining 18 men who have been exonerated since the state’s death penalty was reinstated in 1976.

If she is ultimately executed, Lucio would be the first Latina executed by Texas since 1863 and the first woman put to death by the state since 2014.

SOURCE: Associated Press, September 25, 2026.