Vince Imhoff, Renowned Criminal Attorney, Examines Melissa Lucio’s Execution Halted by Texas Court of Criminal Appeals

Vince Imhoff

The police departments must punish, not promote, the investigators who take the shortcuts while doing their honorable public service job of investigating crime.”

— Vince Imhoff

LOS ANGELES, CA, UNITED STATES, May 9, 2022 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Melissa Lucio's death sentence has sparked international outrage as more people question her guilt in the death of her 2-year-old daughter. The Texas Court of Criminal Appeals postponed her execution on Wednesday last week. The case has attracted worldwide interest. The appeals court, acknowledging serious doubts regarding Lucio's guilt and the legitimacy of her conviction, postponed her execution last week on Wednesday so that the matter could be thoroughly investigated.

Renowned criminal attorney, Vince Imhoff, believes this was a good call and believes

police tactics must change to prevent false convictions. "Imhoff and Associates, PC is relieved that the Texas Court of Criminal appeals is granting relief to Melisa Lucios," states Imhoff. Ms. Lucios was convicted of murdering her daughter, Mariah Lucois. While Ms. Lucois stated her innocence over 100 times in the harsh interrogation, she eventually was worn down and confessed to the murder of her daughter."

The court remanded Lucio's case to the Cameron County court where she was initially tried to determine whether she is truly innocent, as well as whether the state lied to the jury and withheld information from the defense. The court's decision came just minutes before the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles was to vote on whether to recommend that Lucio's execution be postponed for at least 120 days. Because of the court's decision, the board later stated that it would no longer make a recommendation.

Imhoff continues, "The Texas Court refused to participate in a case that victimizes the parent of a child that passed away in an accident. New evidence gained from a new autopsy helped spearhead the new trial. However, at the core of this issue of harsh interrogation practices of the local police. In addition to a new trial for Ms. Lucios, the spotlight must still be pointed at the police force that developed, trained, and promoted officers based on successfully employing harsh interrogation tactics."

Lucio's supporters argue that there are too many unresolved issues with the police investigation and prosecution for her death sentence to be carried out without further investigation. The prosecution relied almost solely on an ambiguous "confession" acquired after hours of police interrogation at Lucio's trial, and the trial judge excluded expert testimony that could have explained why she would confess to police things she did not do.

"The police departments must punish, not promote, the investigators who take the shortcuts while doing their honorable public service job of investigating crime. The public deserves better, Mariah Lucios deserves better and so does her mom," concludes Imhoff.