1
00:00:01,088 --> 00:00:03,177
[flipping through papers]

2
00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:07,000
Downloaded from
YTS.MX

3
00:00:06,658 --> 00:00:08,617
[Victor Escalon]
What about her legs?

4
00:00:08,000 --> 00:00:13,000
Official YIFY movies site:
YTS.MX

5
00:00:08,660 --> 00:00:11,924
The bruising around her legs,
around her thighs,

6
00:00:11,968 --> 00:00:13,622
between the knee

7
00:00:13,665 --> 00:00:15,058
and her hip.

8
00:00:15,885 --> 00:00:17,452
Now what's that from?

9
00:00:17,756 --> 00:00:20,455
- [Melissa] Spankings.
- How'd you spank her there?

10
00:00:20,498 --> 00:00:22,326
Her laying down?
Standing up?

11
00:00:22,370 --> 00:00:24,502
No, her lying down.
I'd be dressing her,

12
00:00:24,546 --> 00:00:27,288
and I'd just go like
that[slaps] on her leg.

13
00:00:28,245 --> 00:00:29,812
- That's pretty hard.
- Mm-hm.

14
00:00:33,511 --> 00:00:35,035
How would you spank her?

15
00:00:35,905 --> 00:00:38,473
Lay her down
and show me how'd you spank.

16
00:00:38,516 --> 00:00:41,693
Was it one time
or several times?

17
00:00:41,737 --> 00:00:43,260
Several times.

18
00:00:43,304 --> 00:00:46,394
Show me how but show me
the same force you'd use.

19
00:00:46,437 --> 00:00:48,135
With your right or left hand?

20
00:00:49,919 --> 00:00:51,225
Left, right hand.

21
00:00:51,268 --> 00:00:52,878
Would you be standing
or sitting?

22
00:00:52,922 --> 00:00:54,315
Both.

23
00:00:54,358 --> 00:00:56,099
How'd you do it sitting?

24
00:00:56,143 --> 00:00:58,623
Show me how you'd do it.
The way you did it.

25
00:00:58,667 --> 00:01:00,930
- [inhales]
- Just get it over with.

26
00:01:00,973 --> 00:01:03,324
I'd spank her real hard
on her back.

27
00:01:03,367 --> 00:01:05,630
Well do it real hard
like you'd do it.

28
00:01:05,674 --> 00:01:08,633
- I'd spank her hard.
- The way you'd do it.

29
00:01:08,677 --> 00:01:10,287
That's the way I'd do it.

30
00:01:10,331 --> 00:01:12,681
- I wouldn't pound on her.
- But...

31
00:01:12,724 --> 00:01:14,509
- [spanks]
- Mm-hm.

32
00:01:14,552 --> 00:01:15,771
Well, do it.

33
00:01:16,946 --> 00:01:19,079
- Like that.
- Was it harder?

34
00:01:19,731 --> 00:01:20,993
No.

35
00:01:21,037 --> 00:01:23,257
[spanks]
Because what I'm doing is hard.

36
00:01:23,300 --> 00:01:26,564
Well, okay, you're doing
it on yourself. This is...

37
00:01:28,000 --> 00:01:31,308
I mean, I wasn't pounding on her
or anything.

38
00:01:31,352 --> 00:01:33,441
Show me how'd you do it.
Like this?

39
00:01:33,484 --> 00:01:34,181
Yes.

40
00:01:34,572 --> 00:01:35,530
Okay.

41
00:01:36,052 --> 00:01:38,359
And this is just what?
Spanking?

42
00:01:45,192 --> 00:01:47,281
- Did you hit her with a stick?
- Uh-uh.

43
00:01:47,324 --> 00:01:49,196
- Did you use anything?
- Uh-uh.

44
00:01:51,763 --> 00:01:54,114
How do you feel
when you see these pictures?

45
00:01:59,728 --> 00:02:01,164
[inhales]

46
00:02:01,208 --> 00:02:02,818
What's going through your head?

47
00:02:02,861 --> 00:02:03,862
[exhales]

48
00:02:04,211 --> 00:02:06,126
I wish it was me that got hurt.

49
00:02:07,562 --> 00:02:09,259
[flipping through papers]

50
00:02:09,825 --> 00:02:11,348
[exhales]

51
00:02:11,392 --> 00:02:13,133
Is there anything else
you wanna add?

52
00:02:13,176 --> 00:02:14,003
[cries]

53
00:02:17,224 --> 00:02:19,095
[crying]

54
00:02:33,240 --> 00:02:35,459
Okay, Melissa.

55
00:02:35,503 --> 00:02:38,984
It's 3:15 AM
and I will end the interview.

56
00:02:55,871 --> 00:02:58,090
[soft music]

57
00:03:17,849 --> 00:03:19,416
[police radio]

58
00:03:37,304 --> 00:03:39,175
[police siren]

59
00:03:53,581 --> 00:03:57,019
[Melissa] I've lost 12 years
without my children.

60
00:04:02,242 --> 00:04:04,592
Some of them have memories
of me.

61
00:04:04,635 --> 00:04:06,376
And some of them don't.

62
00:04:13,035 --> 00:04:16,865
It's been very hard to wake up
each morning and not...

63
00:04:17,953 --> 00:04:19,476
not hear them.

64
00:04:23,611 --> 00:04:25,961
Not hear them
calling out for me.

65
00:04:32,097 --> 00:04:34,274
It's confusing at times.

66
00:04:35,971 --> 00:04:38,103
It's confusing because...

67
00:04:40,105 --> 00:04:43,021
I don't understand... how...

68
00:04:45,023 --> 00:04:47,939
the court system could have done this to me.

69
00:04:55,338 --> 00:04:57,645
The state of Texas
wants to kill me.

70
00:04:59,995 --> 00:05:02,127
Every day I ask:

71
00:05:02,171 --> 00:05:03,781
"God, why?"

72
00:05:15,532 --> 00:05:17,447
[keys jangling]

73
00:05:20,276 --> 00:05:23,888
My name is
Melissa Elizabeth Lucio.

74
00:05:26,456 --> 00:05:28,328
I'm 48 years old.

75
00:05:30,808 --> 00:05:33,289
I have 14 children.
[breathes deeply]

76
00:05:35,552 --> 00:05:38,686
I've been on Death Row 11 years.

77
00:05:44,822 --> 00:05:47,390
I often think
about my daughter Mariah.

78
00:05:48,609 --> 00:05:51,089
I've had a lot of dreams
about her.

79
00:05:55,050 --> 00:05:56,356
I've dreamed that...

80
00:05:59,054 --> 00:06:01,143
her and I are out there

81
00:06:01,186 --> 00:06:02,927
and that she's

82
00:06:03,493 --> 00:06:05,843
running around
in her little dress.

83
00:06:06,670 --> 00:06:08,933
And that she's wanting me
to comb her hair,

84
00:06:08,977 --> 00:06:10,152
brush her hair,

85
00:06:10,195 --> 00:06:12,110
put barrettes on her hair.

86
00:06:12,154 --> 00:06:13,721
Paint her nails,

87
00:06:14,243 --> 00:06:16,419
paint her toenails,

88
00:06:17,377 --> 00:06:19,553
and put some lipstick
on her lips.

89
00:06:20,858 --> 00:06:22,686
You know it's um...

90
00:06:25,646 --> 00:06:29,214
It's hard to have dreams
about your children because

91
00:06:30,302 --> 00:06:31,434
when you wake up,

92
00:06:31,478 --> 00:06:34,132
and then you see
where you're at,

93
00:06:34,959 --> 00:06:36,961
you wish
it wouldn't have been a dream,

94
00:06:37,005 --> 00:06:39,399
that it would have been reality.

95
00:06:41,531 --> 00:06:43,141
There are days

96
00:06:44,316 --> 00:06:46,623
that I feel that I could just

97
00:06:46,667 --> 00:06:49,800
leave this place

98
00:06:49,844 --> 00:06:52,063
and be reunited with Mariah.

99
00:06:52,716 --> 00:06:54,239
And just...

100
00:06:55,110 --> 00:06:56,981
[sniffles] tell her I'm sorry

101
00:06:57,025 --> 00:06:59,419
that I wasn't there
to protect her.

102
00:07:01,638 --> 00:07:05,076
And I failed her.
I failed her in many ways.

103
00:07:05,120 --> 00:07:07,035
[intriguing music]

104
00:08:29,509 --> 00:08:31,162
[enters code]

105
00:08:35,602 --> 00:08:37,908
[Norma Farley] I got a call
Saturday evening

106
00:08:37,952 --> 00:08:39,214
that a child had passed,

107
00:08:40,694 --> 00:08:42,696
and they wanted an autopsy
on this case.

108
00:08:45,786 --> 00:08:50,312
This was the worst case of child abuse I had ever seen.

109
00:08:55,622 --> 00:08:58,538
There were bruises
from head to toe.

110
00:08:59,321 --> 00:09:04,108
There were bruises on the face,
in the hair, on the chest.

111
00:09:04,152 --> 00:09:06,850
There were even abrasions
or scrapes on the neck.

112
00:09:08,765 --> 00:09:11,028
On internal examination,

113
00:09:11,072 --> 00:09:12,856
I was wanting to know,

114
00:09:12,900 --> 00:09:15,555
what's the injury
that killed her on this day.

115
00:09:16,077 --> 00:09:18,296
There was blood
that had accumulated

116
00:09:18,340 --> 00:09:21,952
in the cranial vault
where the brain sits.

117
00:09:22,431 --> 00:09:24,259
I do believe that was probably

118
00:09:24,302 --> 00:09:27,610
due to a punch,
or a kick or something.

119
00:09:27,654 --> 00:09:31,048
Some type of injury,
a significant injury.

120
00:09:31,092 --> 00:09:33,137
[soft music]

121
00:09:35,183 --> 00:09:37,228
I did think this was a homicide.

122
00:09:37,272 --> 00:09:39,143
And once I looked at the head,

123
00:09:39,187 --> 00:09:42,190
and saw there were contusions
on both sides and in the back,

124
00:09:42,233 --> 00:09:44,801
I did think this was a homicide.

125
00:09:59,033 --> 00:10:00,774
I'm going to have to read you
your rights

126
00:10:00,817 --> 00:10:02,602
before I talk to you.
Okay?

127
00:10:03,603 --> 00:10:06,867
[Margaret Schmucker] I've been working on Melissa Lucio's case

128
00:10:06,910 --> 00:10:08,869
for a decade.

129
00:10:10,827 --> 00:10:14,657
I took it on in what's called
The State Habeas Proceedings

130
00:10:15,310 --> 00:10:18,313
that come after her direct appeal is concluded.

131
00:10:22,796 --> 00:10:25,059
The case was very large.

132
00:10:27,061 --> 00:10:30,107
2,000 to 3,000 pages long

133
00:10:30,542 --> 00:10:33,023
of paperwork from Child
Protective Services

134
00:10:33,067 --> 00:10:34,546
and elsewhere

135
00:10:34,590 --> 00:10:36,723
that indicated
she was non-violent.

136
00:10:42,729 --> 00:10:44,469
There is no evidence anywhere

137
00:10:44,513 --> 00:10:46,471
that I could find
in the CPS records

138
00:10:46,515 --> 00:10:49,387
that she was violent
towards any of her kids, ever.

139
00:10:49,866 --> 00:10:51,955
There's just no evidence
anywhere in there

140
00:10:51,999 --> 00:10:54,088
that any of these bruises

141
00:10:54,479 --> 00:10:57,221
that Mariah had on her body
at the time of her death,

142
00:10:57,265 --> 00:11:01,138
um, which the state attributed
to being beaten by Melissa

143
00:11:01,182 --> 00:11:04,228
over a period of weeks
or months.

144
00:11:04,272 --> 00:11:07,579
There's no indication anywhere
that it is Melissa's nature

145
00:11:07,623 --> 00:11:09,538
or that it would have been her.

146
00:11:10,321 --> 00:11:13,803
It's not possible that the other
kids hadn't seen or known

147
00:11:13,847 --> 00:11:16,676
that her mom was beating her
if she was beating her.

148
00:11:16,719 --> 00:11:19,156
And none of those kids
ever said

149
00:11:19,200 --> 00:11:21,419
that their mom
was beating Mariah.

150
00:11:21,463 --> 00:11:23,987
Melissa was never alone
with Mariah

151
00:11:24,031 --> 00:11:26,076
during that applicable
time frame.

152
00:11:26,120 --> 00:11:28,600
The 24 to 72 hours during which

153
00:11:28,644 --> 00:11:32,779
her bump on the head,
uh, progressed from,

154
00:11:32,822 --> 00:11:37,174
you know, a close head injury
to coma to death.

155
00:11:37,784 --> 00:11:41,570
There was always at least one
or two other children with her,

156
00:11:41,613 --> 00:11:43,703
um, if not the whole family.

157
00:11:56,019 --> 00:11:57,804
[birds chirping]

158
00:12:10,555 --> 00:12:11,731
Mm-hm.

159
00:12:27,703 --> 00:12:28,965
Mom.

160
00:12:29,574 --> 00:12:31,011
Pictures of Mel.

161
00:12:32,577 --> 00:12:33,753
Mel.

162
00:12:34,101 --> 00:12:35,624
- [Hope] That Mel?
- Mm-hm.

163
00:12:46,417 --> 00:12:49,769
Oh okay, it was a prayer
that I put in here.

164
00:12:49,812 --> 00:12:52,075
- You wrote it?
- I wrote it.

165
00:12:53,381 --> 00:12:55,557
For Melissa to come out
of prison.

166
00:12:55,600 --> 00:12:57,385
- For her to come out of prison?
- Mm-hm.

167
00:12:57,428 --> 00:13:00,083
It has to be in a box.

168
00:13:06,002 --> 00:13:07,699
Take the tape off.

169
00:13:09,876 --> 00:13:10,572
I'll read it.

170
00:13:34,074 --> 00:13:37,207
It was written
October the 20th, 2007.

171
00:13:41,908 --> 00:13:44,127
My name is Esperanza.

172
00:13:46,956 --> 00:13:48,740
They call me Hope.

173
00:13:50,786 --> 00:13:52,657
And I am Melissa's mom.

174
00:13:59,273 --> 00:14:00,840
My kids kept saying:

175
00:14:00,883 --> 00:14:03,364
"She didn't do it.
She didn't do it".

176
00:14:03,407 --> 00:14:04,974
And I would say:

177
00:14:05,018 --> 00:14:06,846
"What if she did?"

178
00:14:10,980 --> 00:14:13,374
They said so in the court.

179
00:14:13,417 --> 00:14:16,856
The judge...
The judge and the jurors.

180
00:14:16,899 --> 00:14:19,597
Because they said so,
I believed them.

181
00:14:20,903 --> 00:14:22,383
What else could I do?

182
00:14:27,823 --> 00:14:29,433
I don't know why.

183
00:14:30,608 --> 00:14:33,176
Because Melissa
was a loving person.

184
00:14:34,482 --> 00:14:36,876
She just had a rough life.

185
00:14:36,919 --> 00:14:39,052
And a poor life.

186
00:14:42,707 --> 00:14:45,232
Her kisses on the cheek

187
00:14:52,413 --> 00:14:54,328
and her being my child,

188
00:15:01,901 --> 00:15:04,207
those were the happy memories.

189
00:15:06,035 --> 00:15:09,082
When she was happy,
when she should smile.

190
00:15:13,738 --> 00:15:16,437
That's what I remember
about Melissa. [sniffles]

191
00:15:24,706 --> 00:15:28,101
[Diane] Melissa was a good person, even as an adult.

192
00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:32,932
I never had a disagreement
with Mel.

193
00:15:32,975 --> 00:15:36,370
Never. Never.
Not that I remember.

194
00:15:38,241 --> 00:15:40,809
My mom was always working.

195
00:15:40,852 --> 00:15:44,465
So, we went spent most of our
time Melissa, me, and Sonya.

196
00:15:45,770 --> 00:15:48,686
I remember I was always
the one to defend Melissa

197
00:15:48,730 --> 00:15:50,079
because Sonya was very...

198
00:15:50,123 --> 00:15:52,212
She used to like to fight
with us.

199
00:15:52,255 --> 00:15:54,997
Me and Melissa always shared
a bedroom,

200
00:15:55,041 --> 00:15:56,651
so we did
a lot of things together.

201
00:15:59,523 --> 00:16:01,308
She was quiet,

202
00:16:02,309 --> 00:16:04,354
but she was well-liked.

203
00:16:04,702 --> 00:16:07,227
And Melissa
was more the caring one.

204
00:16:07,967 --> 00:16:11,709
And she got married very young, so she wasn't really home.

205
00:16:11,753 --> 00:16:13,450
[soft music]

206
00:16:30,032 --> 00:16:31,294
It's never really crossed
my mind

207
00:16:31,338 --> 00:16:33,644
why she got married young.

208
00:16:34,341 --> 00:16:35,559
She just got married.

209
00:16:38,562 --> 00:16:41,652
Maybe there
was a lot of things lacking.

210
00:16:41,696 --> 00:16:44,307
Maybe it's something
that she was missing

211
00:16:44,351 --> 00:16:46,744
or maybe that's why
she wanted to get away.

212
00:16:59,235 --> 00:17:03,196
[Melissa] By the age of 24,
I already had 5 children.

213
00:17:05,546 --> 00:17:09,941
I got married very young,
at the age of 16

214
00:17:10,246 --> 00:17:11,769
to escape

215
00:17:12,857 --> 00:17:14,163
my childhood.

216
00:17:16,687 --> 00:17:18,080
I was

217
00:17:18,994 --> 00:17:21,083
molested
by my mother's boyfriend,

218
00:17:21,127 --> 00:17:23,912
[inhales] at a very young age.

219
00:17:23,955 --> 00:17:25,174
Um.

220
00:17:28,090 --> 00:17:30,484
I must have been
about 7 years old

221
00:17:30,527 --> 00:17:32,051
when the abuse started.

222
00:17:34,357 --> 00:17:36,011
I grew up

223
00:17:37,143 --> 00:17:38,883
feeling hurt.

224
00:17:38,927 --> 00:17:40,059
I grew up

225
00:17:41,147 --> 00:17:43,018
not feeling loved.

226
00:17:46,630 --> 00:17:49,068
Because of this incident,

227
00:17:50,373 --> 00:17:54,203
I continued to be molested
by other family members.

228
00:17:55,987 --> 00:17:59,600
I just allowed myself
to be a victim

229
00:18:00,035 --> 00:18:01,950
over and over again.

230
00:18:06,998 --> 00:18:11,177
[Hope] I remember
I was in the kitchen,

231
00:18:11,220 --> 00:18:14,832
and she was crying
or something like that.

232
00:18:15,224 --> 00:18:18,009
And she told me that

233
00:18:18,749 --> 00:18:20,969
Kelo had abused her.

234
00:18:21,012 --> 00:18:24,581
And I said be quiet Melissa,
don't you ever say that again.

235
00:18:24,625 --> 00:18:25,930
That's not true.

236
00:18:25,974 --> 00:18:28,629
She said:
"Yes he did, Mom, he did."

237
00:18:29,630 --> 00:18:30,935
And

238
00:18:31,458 --> 00:18:33,329
I didn't believe her

239
00:18:34,678 --> 00:18:36,419
because she was little.

240
00:18:37,377 --> 00:18:40,423
She was a little child,
and I didn't believe her.

241
00:18:43,383 --> 00:18:45,124
Maybe it's true.

242
00:18:46,212 --> 00:18:48,127
I'm not saying it's not.

243
00:18:51,565 --> 00:18:54,133
I don't think about...
about that.

244
00:19:01,183 --> 00:19:04,099
I never think
about that because...

245
00:19:06,232 --> 00:19:08,103
Because my mind doesn't let me.

246
00:19:10,236 --> 00:19:11,759
I shut it out.

247
00:19:17,852 --> 00:19:19,636
[birds chirping]

248
00:19:30,995 --> 00:19:35,174
My name is Dr. John Pinkerman.
I'm a licensed psychologist.

249
00:19:39,090 --> 00:19:42,006
I was approached to be a part of the defense team

250
00:19:42,050 --> 00:19:44,487
to represent Melissa Lucio

251
00:19:44,531 --> 00:19:47,316
in her upcoming trial
for capital murder.

252
00:19:51,973 --> 00:19:53,453
When talking with Melissa Lucio,

253
00:19:53,496 --> 00:19:56,586
I found that the abuse
wasn't reported.

254
00:19:56,630 --> 00:19:58,240
And she never found

255
00:19:58,284 --> 00:20:00,895
a consistent treatment setting

256
00:20:00,938 --> 00:20:02,810
to really work
on the kinds of problems

257
00:20:02,853 --> 00:20:04,203
that she was facing.

258
00:20:05,987 --> 00:20:11,166
She had a history of really
inadequate men in her life,

259
00:20:11,210 --> 00:20:14,952
and being very exploitive,
abusive,

260
00:20:14,996 --> 00:20:17,912
who were also
very troubled individuals

261
00:20:17,955 --> 00:20:20,610
that were doing illegal things
including drug dealing.

262
00:20:21,176 --> 00:20:24,832
And she was, um,
caught up in that maelstrom.

263
00:20:24,875 --> 00:20:28,705
And from what I put together,
my formulation for her is that

264
00:20:28,749 --> 00:20:31,926
she found a way of finding
meaning in her own life

265
00:20:31,969 --> 00:20:33,580
in her role as a mother.

266
00:20:35,886 --> 00:20:38,541
In my review of all
the background information,

267
00:20:38,585 --> 00:20:41,457
she didn't meet the criteria
for mothers

268
00:20:41,501 --> 00:20:43,242
who kill their children.

269
00:20:44,852 --> 00:20:47,420
Those mothers were categorized

270
00:20:47,463 --> 00:20:49,987
into approximately
six different groups.

271
00:20:50,031 --> 00:20:52,686
One was the mother
who was subject

272
00:20:52,729 --> 00:20:54,470
to severe mental illness.

273
00:20:54,514 --> 00:20:56,907
Melissa didn't have
severe mental illness.

274
00:20:56,951 --> 00:21:00,563
Another kind of parent
might be one who, um,

275
00:21:00,607 --> 00:21:02,696
was retaliatory
toward the child.

276
00:21:02,739 --> 00:21:06,047
That the child offended
or let them down,

277
00:21:06,090 --> 00:21:07,570
and the mother retaliated.

278
00:21:07,614 --> 00:21:10,051
And she didn't fit
that kind of criteria.

279
00:21:10,094 --> 00:21:12,140
Another one would be

280
00:21:12,183 --> 00:21:15,099
they had a history
of violence against children.

281
00:21:15,143 --> 00:21:16,449
That wasn't the case.

282
00:21:18,146 --> 00:21:21,236
There was likely something more
that accounted for what happened

283
00:21:21,280 --> 00:21:23,456
because it didn't seem to be

284
00:21:23,499 --> 00:21:26,023
that Melissa's personality
and history

285
00:21:26,067 --> 00:21:28,287
fit the nature of the crime.

286
00:21:28,722 --> 00:21:30,245
[soft music]

287
00:21:46,043 --> 00:21:47,741
My name is Daniella.

288
00:21:47,784 --> 00:21:49,569
I'm Melissa's daughter.

289
00:21:50,047 --> 00:21:52,093
Come on, guys.
Come on.

290
00:21:57,359 --> 00:21:59,143
I wanted a big family
like my mom.

291
00:21:59,187 --> 00:22:00,667
Wait, Ronny!

292
00:22:00,710 --> 00:22:03,278
So yes, I have nine of my own.
[chuckles]

293
00:22:05,106 --> 00:22:05,976
Ronny!

294
00:22:08,065 --> 00:22:11,330
I was the oldest,
so I helped my mom a lot.

295
00:22:11,765 --> 00:22:14,637
Watching the kids when she had
to go grocery shopping

296
00:22:15,290 --> 00:22:17,988
or she had to go out
and do something else.

297
00:22:18,032 --> 00:22:20,817
I would watch the kids,
bathe them,

298
00:22:21,209 --> 00:22:25,256
um, feed them, diaper change,
all that stuff.

299
00:22:25,300 --> 00:22:27,433
I was like a second mom to them.

300
00:22:29,478 --> 00:22:32,960
I'm the oldest,
and then we have Melissa,

301
00:22:33,003 --> 00:22:34,178
John,

302
00:22:34,222 --> 00:22:36,267
Alexandra, Selina,

303
00:22:36,659 --> 00:22:39,009
and then it's Rene, Richard,

304
00:22:39,314 --> 00:22:40,750
Robert,

305
00:22:40,794 --> 00:22:43,449
Gabriel, Adriana, Sara,

306
00:22:43,492 --> 00:22:45,189
and then Mariah.

307
00:22:48,062 --> 00:22:49,846
And then the two twins.

308
00:22:50,456 --> 00:22:52,632
The two twins who were born
in jail

309
00:22:52,675 --> 00:22:54,677
that we never got to see.

310
00:22:56,592 --> 00:22:58,202
Every day after school,

311
00:22:58,246 --> 00:23:00,074
we'd have to walk
to Loaves & Fishes.

312
00:23:00,379 --> 00:23:03,033
That's where they'd give
the free dinner.

313
00:23:07,777 --> 00:23:09,257
After dinner,

314
00:23:09,300 --> 00:23:10,345
we'd walk to the park
on our way home,

315
00:23:10,389 --> 00:23:11,868
and she'd play with us.

316
00:23:11,912 --> 00:23:14,044
You know, pushing us
on the swings.

317
00:23:14,088 --> 00:23:15,785
I thought our mom was fun.

318
00:23:16,525 --> 00:23:19,136
I mean it was just
the littlest things

319
00:23:19,180 --> 00:23:21,530
that we did,
that we have good memories.

320
00:23:21,574 --> 00:23:23,140
It stays with us.

321
00:23:25,447 --> 00:23:27,362
I didn't see my mom
being violent.

322
00:23:27,406 --> 00:23:31,366
When my mom would get after us, it was a pinch on our arm

323
00:23:31,410 --> 00:23:33,194
or a pat on the butt.

324
00:23:35,152 --> 00:23:37,285
She was always so calm.

325
00:23:38,155 --> 00:23:41,637
She always had us with her.
She never left us with nobody.

326
00:23:43,334 --> 00:23:45,336
She was a good mom to us,

327
00:23:45,380 --> 00:23:47,643
I didn't see anything wrong
with her.

328
00:23:47,687 --> 00:23:51,473
I didn't.
I mean she had her drug problem

329
00:23:51,517 --> 00:23:54,128
and not whatnot, but...
[sniffles]

330
00:23:54,171 --> 00:23:56,522
I mean it wasn't like she was...

331
00:23:57,479 --> 00:24:00,526
Like she was in the restroom
all day, and you know,

332
00:24:00,569 --> 00:24:02,615
doing her drugs and stuff,
you know?

333
00:24:02,658 --> 00:24:06,532
She made sure we ate
and we were able to take a bath.

334
00:24:14,191 --> 00:24:16,280
I miss her. [sniffles]

335
00:24:28,728 --> 00:24:30,512
[band music]

336
00:25:10,247 --> 00:25:12,162
[song ends]
[crowd cheers]

337
00:25:21,563 --> 00:25:24,131
[Rene] Me and my sister Melissa
were close.

338
00:25:26,046 --> 00:25:27,787
She loved to dance.

339
00:25:27,830 --> 00:25:30,920
She loved to dance and
she loved to listen to music.

340
00:25:33,619 --> 00:25:36,012
It's kinda like
in the bloodline, you know?

341
00:25:39,712 --> 00:25:41,757
You'd be surprised
by the miracles

342
00:25:41,801 --> 00:25:44,325
music can have on people
and their ears.

343
00:25:44,368 --> 00:25:47,546
It can soothe your body,
your mind, and your soul.

344
00:25:47,589 --> 00:25:48,764
Your heart.

345
00:25:51,506 --> 00:25:53,682
We'd drive all the way to Corpus just to dance,

346
00:25:53,726 --> 00:25:56,337
and she was always the first one our mom would invite.

347
00:25:56,772 --> 00:25:59,122
To make her go out
because she did have kids

348
00:25:59,166 --> 00:26:01,690
and to give her,
you know, a night out.

349
00:26:03,997 --> 00:26:05,607
Me and her were always close.

350
00:26:05,651 --> 00:26:08,915
She was my big sister,
my second mom.

351
00:26:12,788 --> 00:26:15,182
- No, not me!
- What are you gonna say?

352
00:26:15,225 --> 00:26:18,315
Happy birthday to my sisters
Sonya and Diane Valencia

353
00:26:18,359 --> 00:26:22,406
from Mr. and Mrs. Guadalupe
Lucio Jr. from Houston.

354
00:26:23,320 --> 00:26:26,062
[Rene] I was at her house daily.

355
00:26:28,935 --> 00:26:32,199
You know, it was a loud house,
her house was loud.

356
00:26:33,461 --> 00:26:36,725
They were, you know,
going crazy and running around.

357
00:26:36,769 --> 00:26:38,988
But how can you control
eight kids, ten kids,

358
00:26:39,032 --> 00:26:40,860
you know, all at once?

359
00:26:44,515 --> 00:26:46,300
She was addicted.

360
00:26:46,343 --> 00:26:49,433
It was almost every day
that she was doing it.

361
00:26:50,304 --> 00:26:53,655
That was her little one
or two hours to just, uh,

362
00:26:53,699 --> 00:26:56,223
get away,
get away from everything.

363
00:26:57,616 --> 00:26:59,574
She was scared.
When she would do it,

364
00:26:59,618 --> 00:27:01,794
she would lock herself
in the restroom

365
00:27:01,837 --> 00:27:05,014
and stay in there a couple
of hours, you know?

366
00:27:05,058 --> 00:27:07,538
Kids would be knocking on there,

367
00:27:07,582 --> 00:27:09,889
and she'd try and hush them
away:

368
00:27:09,932 --> 00:27:12,152
"Leave me alone.
Leave me alone."

369
00:27:12,195 --> 00:27:15,764
And she wouldn't come out
until she sobered up.

370
00:27:15,808 --> 00:27:18,637
She'd finish and wouldn't
come out until an hour later.

371
00:27:18,680 --> 00:27:21,596
Till she knew she was ready
to face her kids...

372
00:27:21,640 --> 00:27:23,467
You know?
I don't think...

373
00:27:24,512 --> 00:27:27,602
she wanted her kids
to see her like that.

374
00:27:27,646 --> 00:27:30,736
Um, even though at times
I know they did see her.

375
00:27:31,824 --> 00:27:33,826
[intriguing music]

376
00:27:35,566 --> 00:27:39,005
You know her demons took over,
everything she had.

377
00:27:44,532 --> 00:27:46,099
[dog barking]

378
00:28:20,307 --> 00:28:21,743
[Sonya] I think Melissa,

379
00:28:21,787 --> 00:28:23,658
because she had
so many children,

380
00:28:23,702 --> 00:28:26,661
and she lived in poverty,

381
00:28:26,705 --> 00:28:29,490
that she felt
she was the black sheep.

382
00:28:33,407 --> 00:28:36,671
She lived
in run-down apartments.

383
00:28:39,021 --> 00:28:41,894
Maybe a one bedroom,
two bedroom.

384
00:28:42,851 --> 00:28:47,726
You know, not sufficient rooms
for all of them to live in.

385
00:28:49,336 --> 00:28:53,862
I don't even think Melissa ever
owned a piece of new furniture.

386
00:29:02,349 --> 00:29:05,700
They found, you know,
a pile of trash...

387
00:29:07,397 --> 00:29:11,271
and if there was a chair,
a table that they could use,

388
00:29:11,314 --> 00:29:12,751
they would take it.

389
00:29:14,840 --> 00:29:17,407
Yeah we knew she struggled.

390
00:29:17,451 --> 00:29:22,282
You could see it in her face,
you know, the tiredness.

391
00:29:25,676 --> 00:29:27,896
[chattering in Spanish]

392
00:29:41,388 --> 00:29:43,564
It's not on.

393
00:29:43,607 --> 00:29:45,131
You're lying, Diane!

394
00:29:47,133 --> 00:29:49,222
[Sonya] She never complained.

395
00:29:49,875 --> 00:29:52,834
She never talked about her life.

396
00:29:52,878 --> 00:29:56,185
If she needed help,
she never told us.

397
00:29:59,058 --> 00:30:00,624
As close as we were,

398
00:30:00,668 --> 00:30:02,409
there was
a lot of things happening

399
00:30:02,452 --> 00:30:04,063
that we didn't know about.

400
00:30:07,718 --> 00:30:10,678
Maybe we just wanted
to block it out.

401
00:30:15,030 --> 00:30:16,858
[intriguing music]

402
00:31:37,939 --> 00:31:41,029
[Margaret Schmucker] The CPS
files basically say that

403
00:31:41,073 --> 00:31:44,293
her children we removed
from her because of neglect,

404
00:31:44,337 --> 00:31:45,642
not violence.

405
00:31:49,429 --> 00:31:52,040
There were records that Mariah

406
00:31:52,084 --> 00:31:54,216
was prone
to falling down stairs.

407
00:31:56,436 --> 00:31:58,438
One foot was turned in,

408
00:31:58,481 --> 00:32:00,440
um, which made her gait awkward

409
00:32:00,483 --> 00:32:02,746
and made her to prone
to falling,

410
00:32:02,790 --> 00:32:04,357
so she'd fall
and injure herself.

411
00:32:04,792 --> 00:32:08,839
One of the other children,
right after this all happened,

412
00:32:08,883 --> 00:32:11,190
told an interviewer

413
00:32:11,233 --> 00:32:14,541
that he'd seen Mariah fall down
a flight of stairs.

414
00:32:14,889 --> 00:32:16,935
And not just any flight
of stairs,

415
00:32:16,978 --> 00:32:18,632
but the white flight of stairs.

416
00:32:18,675 --> 00:32:20,634
And the white flight
of stairs was

417
00:32:20,677 --> 00:32:23,811
the exterior stairwell
at the family's prior

418
00:32:23,854 --> 00:32:25,465
apartment complex.

419
00:32:25,508 --> 00:32:27,597
And it was rickety,
and it was old,

420
00:32:27,641 --> 00:32:28,729
and it was white.

421
00:32:29,643 --> 00:32:32,428
That interview
with the other child,

422
00:32:32,472 --> 00:32:35,997
who was about 9 years old
at the time of Mariah's death,

423
00:32:36,041 --> 00:32:38,260
um, was never presented
to the court.

424
00:32:40,959 --> 00:32:42,525
[soft music]

425
00:32:42,569 --> 00:32:45,354
For whatever reason,
Melissa's attorney at trial

426
00:32:45,398 --> 00:32:47,400
decided
that it wasn't important.

427
00:32:53,058 --> 00:32:54,668
Rene, did anybody

428
00:32:54,711 --> 00:32:57,540
like tell you all like
what to say?

429
00:32:57,584 --> 00:33:00,369
Or for you not to say anything?

430
00:33:00,413 --> 00:33:02,502
Did anyone ever ask
any questions

431
00:33:02,545 --> 00:33:03,503
or anything like that?

432
00:33:03,546 --> 00:33:04,983
- No.
- No?

433
00:33:05,635 --> 00:33:08,203
And Rene, let me ask you, um,

434
00:33:08,247 --> 00:33:11,554
what happens to you
when you, like, would misbehave

435
00:33:11,598 --> 00:33:14,079
or get in trouble,
or anything like that?

436
00:33:14,122 --> 00:33:15,471
My mom would get mad.

437
00:33:15,515 --> 00:33:17,430
She'd get mad,
and what would happen?

438
00:33:17,473 --> 00:33:20,911
- She would put me in a corner.
- M'kay.

439
00:33:22,261 --> 00:33:24,828
And what about
your brothers and sisters?

440
00:33:24,872 --> 00:33:28,397
What would happen to them
when they would misbehave?

441
00:33:28,441 --> 00:33:30,356
They were put in the corner.

442
00:33:40,801 --> 00:33:42,846
Do you know why
you're talking to me?

443
00:33:42,890 --> 00:33:43,804
Mariah died.

444
00:33:44,979 --> 00:33:46,024
- Who's Mariah?
- My sister.

445
00:33:46,067 --> 00:33:47,286
Your sister.

446
00:33:52,900 --> 00:33:57,339
Had she had any accidents or had anything happened to her?

447
00:33:57,383 --> 00:33:59,863
She fell down some steps.

448
00:33:59,907 --> 00:34:03,867
And did you see her fall
or did someone tell you that?

449
00:34:03,911 --> 00:34:04,999
No, I saw.

450
00:34:07,436 --> 00:34:09,264
[Daniella] Oh my gosh!

451
00:34:13,094 --> 00:34:15,879
How scary, this is where
they say she fell from.

452
00:34:17,925 --> 00:34:19,883
Imagine,
all the way down from there!

453
00:34:19,927 --> 00:34:21,059
Right here, baby.

454
00:34:22,277 --> 00:34:24,758
Right here was
where my mom lived.

455
00:34:27,152 --> 00:34:29,110
They're abandoned now.

456
00:34:29,154 --> 00:34:31,417
She fell all the way down?

457
00:34:32,592 --> 00:34:34,289
She fell all the way down.

458
00:34:34,333 --> 00:34:36,857
From the first step up there,
all the way down here.

459
00:34:38,337 --> 00:34:41,688
- Imagine? The baby falls?
- A baby?

460
00:34:41,731 --> 00:34:45,170
Imagine a baby falls.
That's how old Mariah was.

461
00:34:45,692 --> 00:34:47,302
[somber music]

462
00:34:54,135 --> 00:34:56,094
I saw some pictures of her.

463
00:34:56,137 --> 00:34:59,227
And she had
a lot of scratches on her face,

464
00:34:59,271 --> 00:35:02,100
and she had bruises everywhere.

465
00:35:02,143 --> 00:35:05,929
So I wanted to know if you knew
about those, how she got those?

466
00:35:05,973 --> 00:35:07,453
I don't know.

467
00:35:07,496 --> 00:35:10,412
I didn't know she had bruises
or anything.

468
00:35:10,456 --> 00:35:12,458
Did you ever see them though?

469
00:35:12,501 --> 00:35:15,504
Well, I saw one bruise
when she fell down the steps.

470
00:35:15,548 --> 00:35:17,506
Where was it?
Where did you see it?

471
00:35:17,550 --> 00:35:19,334
Uh...

472
00:35:19,378 --> 00:35:22,120
I think there was one
on her eye.

473
00:35:23,599 --> 00:35:24,948
Um...

474
00:35:24,992 --> 00:35:26,820
I think on her arm too.

475
00:35:29,910 --> 00:35:31,825
Do you feel safe now?

476
00:35:31,868 --> 00:35:33,740
- Right now?
- Mm-hm.

477
00:35:33,783 --> 00:35:35,394
Uh, no.

478
00:35:35,437 --> 00:35:36,786
How come?

479
00:35:36,830 --> 00:35:39,049
Because I miss my mommy
and my daddy.

480
00:35:39,093 --> 00:35:41,182
- You miss them?
- Mm-hm.

481
00:35:42,270 --> 00:35:44,533
- Have you seen them?
- No.

482
00:35:44,577 --> 00:35:46,361
Do you know where
they are now?

483
00:35:46,405 --> 00:35:47,623
No.

484
00:35:47,667 --> 00:35:50,060
- Have you talked to them?
- No.

485
00:35:52,976 --> 00:35:54,195
[drawing]

486
00:35:55,588 --> 00:35:58,025
I miss Mommy and Daddy.

487
00:36:01,420 --> 00:36:03,161
[slow music]

488
00:36:21,962 --> 00:36:24,007
[ceremonial music]

489
00:36:59,565 --> 00:37:01,958
[Announcer 1] Keep your right hand over your heart

490
00:37:02,002 --> 00:37:03,743
for the Texas pledge.

491
00:37:03,786 --> 00:37:05,658
"Honor the Texas flag.

492
00:37:05,701 --> 00:37:08,704
"I pledge allegiance to thee,
Texas,

493
00:37:08,748 --> 00:37:12,578
"one state, under God,
one and indivisible."

494
00:37:14,275 --> 00:37:15,798
[Announcer 2] Summa cum laude:

495
00:37:16,146 --> 00:37:18,453
Alex Fernando Gutierrez.

496
00:37:18,497 --> 00:37:20,194
[crowd cheers]

497
00:37:23,415 --> 00:37:25,591
Robert Andrew Alvarez.

498
00:37:25,634 --> 00:37:27,070
[crowd cheers]

499
00:37:28,681 --> 00:37:30,248
My name is Bobby.

500
00:37:30,639 --> 00:37:32,554
I'm Melissa's son.

501
00:37:33,990 --> 00:37:37,342
And I was 8 when she was sentenced to death row.

502
00:37:45,437 --> 00:37:47,700
After it happened,
we lived in foster care.

503
00:37:47,743 --> 00:37:49,571
So we were all separated.

504
00:37:51,704 --> 00:37:53,967
Every night, we would cry

505
00:37:54,010 --> 00:37:56,186
and say that we missed our mom.

506
00:37:59,102 --> 00:38:02,149
There's all this time
that was lost.

507
00:38:06,327 --> 00:38:08,503
If they actually investigated,
you know,

508
00:38:08,547 --> 00:38:10,331
like looked into what happened,

509
00:38:10,375 --> 00:38:12,115
we wouldn't be here.

510
00:38:12,638 --> 00:38:14,117
We'd be with her.

511
00:38:15,075 --> 00:38:17,077
Everything
would have been different.

512
00:38:20,689 --> 00:38:22,691
[soft music]

513
00:38:27,392 --> 00:38:29,959
They didn't really ask any of us who were there

514
00:38:30,003 --> 00:38:31,134
what happened.

515
00:38:40,448 --> 00:38:43,799
My mom, she just wasn't the one to, like, discipline us.

516
00:38:49,022 --> 00:38:51,024
I mean there were
a lot of kids,

517
00:38:51,067 --> 00:38:52,721
but my mom wasn't
a violent person.

518
00:38:58,423 --> 00:39:00,990
Mariah never really looked sick.

519
00:39:01,034 --> 00:39:02,427
Yeah, she would cry,

520
00:39:02,470 --> 00:39:05,212
but that's what all babies do.

521
00:39:06,735 --> 00:39:11,000
Every time, whenever we'd, like,
go to places, she was fine.

522
00:39:11,044 --> 00:39:14,352
Like, you know,
she still didn't talk, but um...

523
00:39:14,874 --> 00:39:16,397
She didn't like...

524
00:39:16,441 --> 00:39:18,486
There was no symptoms
where you could tell

525
00:39:18,530 --> 00:39:20,793
like, she doesn't look good

526
00:39:20,836 --> 00:39:22,534
or like,
her arm seems out of place.

527
00:39:28,931 --> 00:39:30,890
The only time
that I ever saw bruises

528
00:39:30,933 --> 00:39:32,239
was whenever she fell.

529
00:39:35,851 --> 00:39:37,375
I was at the way bottom.

530
00:39:40,116 --> 00:39:41,988
Of course she cried, but...

531
00:39:42,031 --> 00:39:43,424
She was fine.

532
00:39:46,819 --> 00:39:50,431
I remember all of us being with,
um, the younger kids.

533
00:39:50,475 --> 00:39:53,695
We were all in the one of
the rooms, just watching TV,

534
00:39:53,739 --> 00:39:57,960
and I remember that
because I was by Mariah.

535
00:39:58,004 --> 00:39:59,745
[soft music]

536
00:40:01,616 --> 00:40:03,966
We had just moved to the house.

537
00:40:07,753 --> 00:40:09,972
That day my mom was cleaning

538
00:40:10,016 --> 00:40:12,584
and she was putting everything
in the right place.

539
00:40:18,024 --> 00:40:19,982
Mariah, she was very tired.

540
00:40:20,026 --> 00:40:23,769
And I was talking to her, and
I was like: "Oh, you're tired."

541
00:40:23,812 --> 00:40:25,423
And I had kissed her forehead,

542
00:40:25,466 --> 00:40:27,555
and I guess she had closed
her eyes.

543
00:40:30,689 --> 00:40:34,040
She just fell asleep
and didn't wake up.

544
00:40:41,395 --> 00:40:43,266
We were all crying.

545
00:40:43,310 --> 00:40:46,052
And my mom was just there.
She was just sitting down.

546
00:40:48,576 --> 00:40:51,971
Her eyeliner was all messed up
because she'd been crying.

547
00:40:55,714 --> 00:40:57,803
I remember trying
to cheer her up,

548
00:40:57,846 --> 00:40:59,239
but she wouldn't.

549
00:41:00,153 --> 00:41:01,328
[sniffles]

550
00:41:03,765 --> 00:41:05,811
That's when CPS came.

551
00:41:07,465 --> 00:41:08,335
Um...

552
00:41:09,075 --> 00:41:11,643
And they took us away from...

553
00:41:11,686 --> 00:41:13,079
my family.

554
00:41:14,515 --> 00:41:16,996
And I was like:
"Oh, I don't wanna go."

555
00:41:17,039 --> 00:41:19,781
But, they were like:
"You have to."

556
00:41:19,825 --> 00:41:22,349
And when they took us, um...

557
00:41:22,958 --> 00:41:25,265
I remember just, like,
leaving them,

558
00:41:25,308 --> 00:41:27,528
asking:
"Oh, what's gonna happen?"

559
00:41:27,572 --> 00:41:29,051
[breathes deeply]

560
00:41:29,487 --> 00:41:31,140
But they didn't answer.

561
00:41:36,015 --> 00:41:37,886
[police siren]

562
00:41:41,368 --> 00:41:43,413
[Sonya] So we get there.

563
00:41:44,371 --> 00:41:47,026
[inhales]
There's police officers

564
00:41:47,592 --> 00:41:52,292
and there's the ambulance,
and there's a fire truck.

565
00:41:52,335 --> 00:41:55,121
And I sit there with Melissa
and I ask her:

566
00:41:55,164 --> 00:41:56,905
"What happened, Melissa?

567
00:41:56,949 --> 00:41:58,820
"What happened?

568
00:41:58,864 --> 00:42:00,692
"Where's the baby?"

569
00:42:03,869 --> 00:42:06,349
And she was stone-cold.

570
00:42:07,176 --> 00:42:09,048
She wasn't saying anything.

571
00:42:11,311 --> 00:42:13,443
And then they close up her house

572
00:42:13,487 --> 00:42:15,750
and they take them all in
for questioning.

573
00:42:16,098 --> 00:42:18,536
It was like 2 in the morning,
and we go home,

574
00:42:18,579 --> 00:42:21,451
and we're still there
crying and wondering

575
00:42:21,495 --> 00:42:23,366
[voice shakes]
what was happening.

576
00:42:24,367 --> 00:42:26,195
And it didn't feel real.

577
00:42:27,066 --> 00:42:28,546
Like, I don't...

578
00:42:28,589 --> 00:42:31,940
We had never been through
anything like that.

579
00:42:31,984 --> 00:42:34,552
That doesn't seem real, Melissa.

580
00:42:36,292 --> 00:42:38,207
Then our nightmare started,

581
00:42:39,208 --> 00:42:40,775
and she never came home.

582
00:42:49,392 --> 00:42:51,133
[Detective 1] First of all,

583
00:42:53,005 --> 00:42:55,181
I'm very sad
that this child died.

584
00:42:58,271 --> 00:42:59,925
But when I first saw you
in there,

585
00:42:59,968 --> 00:43:02,014
I knew something was wrong.

586
00:43:04,973 --> 00:43:06,801
You know something is wrong.

587
00:43:06,845 --> 00:43:08,673
No, Sir, I don't.

588
00:43:08,716 --> 00:43:11,458
- You know something is wrong.
- No, Sir, I don't.

589
00:43:11,893 --> 00:43:13,678
If I bring you pictures,

590
00:43:13,721 --> 00:43:16,855
if I beat you half to death
like that little child was beat,

591
00:43:16,898 --> 00:43:19,031
I bet you, you'd die to!

592
00:43:19,074 --> 00:43:20,554
Sir,
I did not beat my daughters.

593
00:43:20,598 --> 00:43:21,381
No?

594
00:43:21,424 --> 00:43:22,991
I'm not that cruel.

595
00:43:23,035 --> 00:43:25,037
What are all those bruises
on your little child?

596
00:43:25,820 --> 00:43:29,128
[Detective 2]
Thing is that I got a mom,

597
00:43:29,171 --> 00:43:31,086
you can clearly see here,

598
00:43:32,131 --> 00:43:34,307
who doesn't know who did that.

599
00:43:34,699 --> 00:43:37,005
Yeah. "It wasn't me.

600
00:43:37,049 --> 00:43:39,007
"I didn't cause her death."

601
00:43:40,487 --> 00:43:42,097
[door closes]

602
00:43:44,230 --> 00:43:46,536
Okay, Melissa...

603
00:43:46,580 --> 00:43:48,234
My name's Victor Escalon.

604
00:43:48,277 --> 00:43:50,018
[Melissa] Basically
what they were doing

605
00:43:50,062 --> 00:43:51,150
is they were trying to...

606
00:43:52,978 --> 00:43:54,893
make me admit that I was

607
00:43:55,284 --> 00:43:57,765
the one responsible
for her fall.

608
00:43:58,157 --> 00:44:00,463
And I kept telling them

609
00:44:00,507 --> 00:44:03,684
that I hadn't hurt my daughter,

610
00:44:04,076 --> 00:44:06,252
and they were very vulgar.

611
00:44:06,295 --> 00:44:07,775
Very...

612
00:44:07,819 --> 00:44:10,822
Very rough, very, um...

613
00:44:10,865 --> 00:44:12,737
resistant.

614
00:44:12,780 --> 00:44:15,478
They wanted me to admit
to something that I was not

615
00:44:15,522 --> 00:44:17,698
capable of doing to my child.

616
00:44:17,742 --> 00:44:19,091
And, um...

617
00:44:20,222 --> 00:44:22,921
The interrogation continued

618
00:44:22,964 --> 00:44:24,618
for maybe six...

619
00:44:24,662 --> 00:44:26,315
six, seven hours,

620
00:44:26,359 --> 00:44:28,753
until 3 o'clock in the morning.

621
00:44:29,405 --> 00:44:31,233
[Victor Escalon]
Set it straight.

622
00:44:31,277 --> 00:44:32,887
It looks like capital murder.

623
00:44:32,931 --> 00:44:35,716
Right now, it looks like
you're a coldblooded killer.

624
00:44:36,630 --> 00:44:38,371
- Are you a killer?
- No.

625
00:44:38,414 --> 00:44:41,069
Or were you a frustrated mom
who took it out on her?

626
00:44:41,591 --> 00:44:43,376
[Detective 1]
We know somebody did it.

627
00:44:43,419 --> 00:44:45,683
We're trying
to find out who did it.

628
00:44:45,726 --> 00:44:47,162
If it wasn't you,

629
00:44:47,206 --> 00:44:50,252
I don't think
somebody crept in there at night

630
00:44:50,296 --> 00:44:53,168
and went up to her
and singled her out,

631
00:44:53,212 --> 00:44:54,648
so he could bite her back.

632
00:44:55,344 --> 00:44:58,260
- [sniffles]
- Melissa, look, it happens.

633
00:44:58,565 --> 00:45:00,785
Okay, we all make mistakes.

634
00:45:00,828 --> 00:45:03,962
We all make mistakes.
We all get upset.

635
00:45:04,005 --> 00:45:05,920
We already know what happened.

636
00:45:06,399 --> 00:45:07,661
We already know.

637
00:45:07,705 --> 00:45:09,228
They just kept

638
00:45:09,271 --> 00:45:11,360
pointing fingers at me

639
00:45:11,404 --> 00:45:14,320
and threatening me,
and telling me

640
00:45:15,277 --> 00:45:18,759
I was gonna spend
the rest of my life in prison

641
00:45:18,803 --> 00:45:21,849
and that I wouldn't see
the rest of my children grow up

642
00:45:21,893 --> 00:45:23,764
and get married.

643
00:45:23,808 --> 00:45:27,202
You know, they just kept
throwing so many words at me.

644
00:45:28,247 --> 00:45:29,944
And I just told them,

645
00:45:29,988 --> 00:45:32,642
I'm responsible
for Mariah's bruises.

646
00:45:33,818 --> 00:45:36,037
They wanted to hear something.
I mean...

647
00:45:36,081 --> 00:45:37,865
I was not gonna admit to

648
00:45:37,909 --> 00:45:40,781
causing her death
because I wasn't responsible.

649
00:45:44,829 --> 00:45:45,699
In the end,

650
00:45:46,831 --> 00:45:48,354
they left the room,
the detectives.

651
00:45:48,397 --> 00:45:50,443
There was 3 detectives
and the ranger.

652
00:45:50,486 --> 00:45:52,140
They left the room.

653
00:45:52,184 --> 00:45:53,663
They left me in

654
00:45:53,707 --> 00:45:56,231
the interrogation room
by myself.

655
00:45:56,841 --> 00:46:00,018
And I could hear them
out in the hallway

656
00:46:00,061 --> 00:46:01,889
deciding what to charge me with.

657
00:46:02,716 --> 00:46:05,501
If they should charge me
with injury to a child

658
00:46:05,545 --> 00:46:07,112
or capital murder.

659
00:46:07,155 --> 00:46:09,288
They couldn't decide.

660
00:46:10,942 --> 00:46:12,378
[Victor Escalon] Ready.

661
00:46:12,421 --> 00:46:14,728
- You gonna hold it like that?
- Yeah.

662
00:46:14,772 --> 00:46:16,861
- Is it better that way?
- Uh, yeah.

663
00:46:16,904 --> 00:46:19,646
'Cause I guess we're gonna be
moving around, so.

664
00:46:19,689 --> 00:46:20,821
- Ready?
- Mm-hm.

665
00:46:20,865 --> 00:46:22,083
- Say when.
- Go.

666
00:46:22,127 --> 00:46:23,563
- Melissa?
- Huh?

667
00:46:23,606 --> 00:46:24,564
Okay.

668
00:46:25,739 --> 00:46:30,178
Today's date is 2/18/2007.
It is 3 AM.

669
00:46:30,222 --> 00:46:33,094
We are here at the Harlingen
Police Department.

670
00:46:33,660 --> 00:46:36,228
I am here with Melissa Lucio.

671
00:46:36,271 --> 00:46:38,708
My name is Victor Escalon
with the Texas Rangers.

672
00:46:38,752 --> 00:46:40,841
I am also in this room

673
00:46:40,885 --> 00:46:45,193
with Officer Harlingen Police
Detective Javier Villareal.

674
00:46:46,194 --> 00:46:48,849
[Dr. Pinkerman] She's being
interrogated

675
00:46:48,893 --> 00:46:51,069
without having any water.

676
00:46:51,112 --> 00:46:53,462
I don't know
if they had a bathroom break.

677
00:46:53,506 --> 00:46:56,509
And she didn't have anything
to eat the whole day.

678
00:46:56,552 --> 00:46:58,859
Those are circumstances

679
00:46:58,903 --> 00:47:02,820
that are conducive to getting
people to confess.

680
00:47:04,691 --> 00:47:07,128
Here's a woman
who has acquiesced

681
00:47:07,172 --> 00:47:08,651
to the most horrific stuff

682
00:47:08,695 --> 00:47:11,393
by men in her life,
since the age of seven.

683
00:47:12,351 --> 00:47:15,528
And has shown
very little assertion

684
00:47:15,571 --> 00:47:19,314
against adult males in her life.

685
00:47:19,358 --> 00:47:20,620
And, um...

686
00:47:20,925 --> 00:47:25,190
now is grieving
for the death of her daughter.

687
00:47:25,233 --> 00:47:26,756
And, um...

688
00:47:26,800 --> 00:47:28,671
is in a sense,

689
00:47:28,715 --> 00:47:30,891
caving in to the whole process
of the interrogation.

690
00:47:32,937 --> 00:47:36,505
She also has
in her psychological make-up

691
00:47:36,549 --> 00:47:39,030
a sense of disassociation.

692
00:47:39,073 --> 00:47:43,164
Disassociation is almost like
entering a hypnotic state

693
00:47:43,208 --> 00:47:44,905
where you just shut down.

694
00:47:44,949 --> 00:47:47,908
And that's what abuse victims
do all the time.

695
00:47:48,996 --> 00:47:51,129
That's how they survive

696
00:47:51,172 --> 00:47:53,131
from childhood on.

697
00:47:53,783 --> 00:47:57,265
The trauma's overwhelming,
their defenses get overwhelmed.

698
00:47:57,309 --> 00:47:59,572
Their ability
to cope is overwhelmed,

699
00:47:59,615 --> 00:48:02,053
and they just start
folding in on themselves.

700
00:48:04,794 --> 00:48:06,144
What did you do?

701
00:48:06,971 --> 00:48:09,060
- Show me.
- I was combing her hair.

702
00:48:09,103 --> 00:48:12,063
[Dr. Pinkerman] Using the doll,
they asked her to show them

703
00:48:12,106 --> 00:48:15,501
how the child was struck.

704
00:48:15,544 --> 00:48:19,635
And you can see
that her mind is working.

705
00:48:20,375 --> 00:48:22,943
- Did she make you mad?
- Uh-uh.

706
00:48:22,987 --> 00:48:25,032
Then why'd you do it?

707
00:48:25,076 --> 00:48:26,729
I just did it.

708
00:48:26,773 --> 00:48:28,775
[Dr. Pinkerman] You can see
the wheels turning

709
00:48:28,818 --> 00:48:30,037
with her to say:

710
00:48:30,081 --> 00:48:32,735
"Well, if indeed I did it,

711
00:48:32,779 --> 00:48:34,999
"this is how I must've done it.

712
00:48:36,391 --> 00:48:38,611
"I'm gonna just go with it,

713
00:48:38,654 --> 00:48:40,787
and I'll comply,
and I'll show you."

714
00:48:41,222 --> 00:48:44,965
I don't think she's showing them
actual behavior that she did.

715
00:48:45,009 --> 00:48:47,054
[intriguing music]

716
00:48:54,453 --> 00:48:56,194
[Judge's gavel]

717
00:49:06,944 --> 00:49:08,946
[Margaret Schmucker] One
they decided the mom did it,

718
00:49:08,989 --> 00:49:11,122
they put blinders on,

719
00:49:11,165 --> 00:49:14,125
and that was the end
of the investigation.

720
00:49:23,264 --> 00:49:25,919
I don't think
they played the whole

721
00:49:25,963 --> 00:49:29,053
six or seven hours of her
interrogation for the jury.

722
00:49:29,096 --> 00:49:32,230
I think they just played
the last part of it.

723
00:49:35,189 --> 00:49:37,583
Anything deemed a confession

724
00:49:37,626 --> 00:49:39,628
by someone who'd abused
a child to death

725
00:49:39,672 --> 00:49:42,936
would have an enormous impact
on the jury.

726
00:49:45,939 --> 00:49:47,288
Most trial attorneys

727
00:49:47,810 --> 00:49:49,377
would have filed what's called

728
00:49:49,421 --> 00:49:52,554
a Pretrial Motion
to Suppress a Statement.

729
00:49:52,598 --> 00:49:55,731
And would have brought
in an expert

730
00:49:55,775 --> 00:49:57,646
during a motion hearing

731
00:49:58,299 --> 00:50:02,564
to testify that it was in fact
a false confession.

732
00:50:02,608 --> 00:50:04,566
That it was coerced.

733
00:50:09,745 --> 00:50:12,313
I thought it was odd
that in a capital murder case

734
00:50:12,357 --> 00:50:15,795
there was no effort to suppress a statement like that.

735
00:50:34,857 --> 00:50:36,468
[birds chirping]

736
00:50:57,532 --> 00:51:00,013
[Melissa] "It's hard
to wake up every morning

737
00:51:00,057 --> 00:51:02,972
"in this same old ugly cage.

738
00:51:03,495 --> 00:51:07,107
"It's hard to get along with these people full of rage.

739
00:51:10,676 --> 00:51:14,680
"It's hard to move ahead when the clock is running slow.

740
00:51:15,637 --> 00:51:17,944
"It's hard to have
so many questions

741
00:51:17,987 --> 00:51:19,772
with answers I don't know.

742
00:51:22,862 --> 00:51:27,562
"It's hard to think I'm smart when I lost everything so fast.

743
00:51:32,132 --> 00:51:34,091
"It's hard to think
about the future

744
00:51:34,134 --> 00:51:36,832
when I'm still stuck
in the past.

745
00:51:41,141 --> 00:51:45,232
"It's hard to feel their love
when my family is so far.

746
00:51:48,627 --> 00:51:50,716
"It's hard to forget
about the mistakes

747
00:51:50,759 --> 00:51:53,458
when they've left so many scars.

748
00:51:59,594 --> 00:52:04,077
"It's hard to move on
when in life I have no role.

749
00:52:08,777 --> 00:52:13,042
"With everything being so hard, you'd think I'd just give up.

750
00:52:15,523 --> 00:52:18,135
"But the only thing
about being in the bottom

751
00:52:18,178 --> 00:52:20,876
"is that the only way is up."

752
00:52:21,486 --> 00:52:23,052
[intriguing music]

753
00:52:52,125 --> 00:52:55,607
I'd never been arrested before, I'd never been incarcerated.

754
00:52:55,650 --> 00:52:58,305
So I didn't know what to expect.

755
00:53:01,439 --> 00:53:03,049
All I knew was that

756
00:53:03,571 --> 00:53:05,138
somehow, someway,

757
00:53:05,182 --> 00:53:08,359
I would be able to go back home

758
00:53:08,402 --> 00:53:10,578
and be reunited
with my children.

759
00:53:16,976 --> 00:53:20,066
I went to court
for my arraignment,

760
00:53:20,109 --> 00:53:23,678
and I hadn't yet met
my attorney. I didn't know...

761
00:53:23,722 --> 00:53:25,680
if I even had an attorney yet.

762
00:53:25,724 --> 00:53:27,508
So when I sat down at the table,

763
00:53:27,552 --> 00:53:31,382
probably 10-15 minutes later
Mr. Gilman comes in,

764
00:53:31,425 --> 00:53:35,429
sits next to me and he,
uh, introduces himself to me.

765
00:53:35,473 --> 00:53:38,171
And he tells me his name
is Mr. Gilman,

766
00:53:38,215 --> 00:53:40,956
and he's gonna be
my Defense Attorney.

767
00:53:41,000 --> 00:53:43,959
The DA had come to him

768
00:53:44,569 --> 00:53:47,528
and offered him,
told him to offer me 30 years.

769
00:53:47,833 --> 00:53:49,138
And...

770
00:53:49,574 --> 00:53:52,707
I said no right away
because I wasn't guilty.

771
00:53:53,099 --> 00:53:54,970
I felt that:

772
00:53:56,145 --> 00:53:57,843
"Why should I take 30 years

773
00:53:57,886 --> 00:54:01,107
"when I'm not the one that
caused my daughter's death?"

774
00:54:01,890 --> 00:54:03,065
So...

775
00:54:03,544 --> 00:54:05,633
He said:

776
00:54:06,982 --> 00:54:09,420
"Miss Lucio,
how old are you right now?"

777
00:54:09,463 --> 00:54:10,986
and I said: "I'm 38."

778
00:54:11,030 --> 00:54:13,424
He says: "Look at the good side,

779
00:54:13,467 --> 00:54:17,123
if you take 30 years,
you'll be 68 when you come out,"

780
00:54:17,166 --> 00:54:19,865
[sniffles] and you'll be able
to see your children again."

781
00:54:19,908 --> 00:54:22,171
And I said:
"I'm not gonna take 30 years,

782
00:54:22,215 --> 00:54:23,172
"I'm not guilty."

783
00:54:26,175 --> 00:54:28,613
When I spoke to my sister,

784
00:54:28,656 --> 00:54:31,224
and I asked her about
the 30 years, she said:

785
00:54:31,268 --> 00:54:32,921
"Don't take it.

786
00:54:32,965 --> 00:54:34,923
"There has to be somebody
on that jury

787
00:54:34,967 --> 00:54:37,186
that has to believe you.

788
00:54:38,492 --> 00:54:41,365
"You know, you had
all these kids, you were moving.

789
00:54:41,408 --> 00:54:44,063
"You know,
you couldn't keep up with them.

790
00:54:44,106 --> 00:54:46,152
"And this was an accident."

791
00:54:46,457 --> 00:54:50,069
So I believed her
and I took this to trial.

792
00:54:52,027 --> 00:54:54,813
I figured my children
would be able to testify,

793
00:54:54,856 --> 00:54:58,120
that they would be able
to get on that stand.

794
00:54:59,644 --> 00:55:01,559
And I know that they would.

795
00:55:01,602 --> 00:55:04,344
They would come out
and say the truth.

796
00:55:05,084 --> 00:55:07,304
And he didn't want to.

797
00:55:07,347 --> 00:55:09,349
He told me no because

798
00:55:09,393 --> 00:55:11,699
he didn't know what
the prosecutors had

799
00:55:11,743 --> 00:55:13,353
in store for them.

800
00:55:13,397 --> 00:55:17,575
And he didn't want them
to try to manipulate them,

801
00:55:17,879 --> 00:55:21,883
and they'd probably get confused
by what they were being asked.

802
00:55:21,927 --> 00:55:24,103
And he felt that it wasn't...

803
00:55:24,408 --> 00:55:26,453
There wasn't a need
for my children

804
00:55:26,497 --> 00:55:28,063
to be on the stand.

805
00:55:33,591 --> 00:55:34,896
[Diane] Peter Gilman,

806
00:55:36,550 --> 00:55:38,509
he never talked to us,
he didn't acknowledge us.

807
00:55:38,900 --> 00:55:40,946
We were nobody.

808
00:55:42,556 --> 00:55:46,081
You would think that an attorney
that is, uh...

809
00:55:46,125 --> 00:55:49,258
trying to defend your sister,

810
00:55:49,302 --> 00:55:53,393
he would wanna know something
about us. And never, never.

811
00:55:53,437 --> 00:55:56,265
Nobody spoke on her behalf,
nobody.

812
00:55:56,657 --> 00:55:59,965
My mom...
Why didn't my mom get up there?

813
00:56:00,008 --> 00:56:01,749
My mom is her mother,

814
00:56:01,793 --> 00:56:04,622
that person that gave birth
to her, that knew her.

815
00:56:04,665 --> 00:56:06,058
Her children.

816
00:56:06,101 --> 00:56:07,494
Nobody!

817
00:56:07,538 --> 00:56:08,756
Nobody.

818
00:56:09,757 --> 00:56:11,498
Her friends or people...

819
00:56:11,542 --> 00:56:15,284
You know, did they even care
to ask people that knew her?

820
00:56:15,328 --> 00:56:19,114
Her tenants or anybody
that lived around her?

821
00:56:19,158 --> 00:56:22,640
Nobody.
There was nobody on her behalf.

822
00:56:22,683 --> 00:56:24,119
Nobody.

823
00:56:25,730 --> 00:56:27,775
[intriguing music]

824
00:56:48,535 --> 00:56:50,450
[Margaret Schmucker]
The state's case was bad.

825
00:56:50,494 --> 00:56:52,757
There's nothing
that any of those people

826
00:56:52,800 --> 00:56:54,367
could have said

827
00:56:54,411 --> 00:56:57,718
that would have presented
a worse case

828
00:56:57,762 --> 00:57:00,939
than what the jury saw anyways.

829
00:57:05,030 --> 00:57:07,380
I don't think he had a strategy.

830
00:57:08,337 --> 00:57:10,949
I think he left
a lot of evidence on the table

831
00:57:10,992 --> 00:57:13,255
that he could have brought in.

832
00:57:17,564 --> 00:57:22,003
In her affidavit,
the mitigation specialist,

833
00:57:22,482 --> 00:57:24,789
a woman by the name
of Norma Villanueva,

834
00:57:24,832 --> 00:57:28,357
who had been hired
by the Defense Attorney,

835
00:57:28,967 --> 00:57:34,581
explained that she was denied
access to the kids

836
00:57:34,625 --> 00:57:36,975
until very late in the process.

837
00:57:37,018 --> 00:57:40,805
And when she finally was able
to talk to some of them,

838
00:57:40,848 --> 00:57:42,763
um, there was an indication

839
00:57:42,807 --> 00:57:48,029
that one of the daughters,
Alexandra, had admitted to her

840
00:57:48,073 --> 00:57:51,729
that she was responsible for
Mariah falling down the stairs.

841
00:58:04,219 --> 00:58:06,570
This was brought
to Pete Gilman's attention

842
00:58:06,613 --> 00:58:10,008
in a team meeting
for the Defense Council,

843
00:58:10,443 --> 00:58:12,880
and she was told that
the information

844
00:58:12,924 --> 00:58:15,100
was not to be conveyed

845
00:58:15,143 --> 00:58:17,406
to anyone outside...

846
00:58:17,450 --> 00:58:18,538
the room.

847
00:58:18,582 --> 00:58:20,758
That she was not to repeat it,

848
00:58:20,801 --> 00:58:23,195
and it was not to be discussed
at all.

849
00:58:48,481 --> 00:58:51,745
Mr. Gilman then did not bring
that information

850
00:58:51,789 --> 00:58:55,532
before the jury
during Melissa's trial at all.

851
00:59:06,630 --> 00:59:09,110
[Daniella] We went to speak
to my mom's lawyer.

852
00:59:09,154 --> 00:59:11,722
My Aunt Sonya
and I were in the room.

853
00:59:12,636 --> 00:59:14,855
There was something
I wanted to tell him.

854
00:59:16,640 --> 00:59:21,601
I saw Alex bang Mariah's head
onto the ground.

855
00:59:22,515 --> 00:59:26,040
And with no feelings.
She didn't care what she did.

856
00:59:26,824 --> 00:59:30,523
She didn't care that she hurt
Mariah the way she did.

857
00:59:31,437 --> 00:59:36,224
So yes, there are those
two important people I told.

858
00:59:36,268 --> 00:59:39,140
And I'm pretty sure
that Mr. Gilman wrote it down,

859
00:59:39,184 --> 00:59:41,186
but he never brought it up,
and nothing.

860
00:59:41,795 --> 00:59:43,841
[intriguing music]

861
00:59:45,407 --> 00:59:48,019
Mariah really was terrified
of Alex.

862
00:59:48,062 --> 00:59:50,195
Because Alex
was real mean to her.

863
00:59:52,414 --> 00:59:55,156
So I know that a lot
of the bruises and marks

864
00:59:55,200 --> 00:59:56,810
were from Alexandra.

865
00:59:56,854 --> 00:59:59,117
She was real mean to Mariah.

866
01:00:03,817 --> 01:00:06,646
I told my mom: "Let's visit
Melissa without the kids.

867
01:00:06,690 --> 01:00:08,343
"We're not taking the kids."

868
01:00:08,387 --> 01:00:10,519
So it was just me and my mom.

869
01:00:10,563 --> 01:00:13,914
So I get there,
Melissa comes out with a smile.

870
01:00:14,654 --> 01:00:17,135
And she sat there.

871
01:00:17,178 --> 01:00:20,834
And I ask her: "Melissa,
I'm gonna ask you something.

872
01:00:20,878 --> 01:00:22,923
"I'm gonna ask you something.

873
01:00:23,532 --> 01:00:27,885
"But don't answer me,
just nod your head yes or no."

874
01:00:28,581 --> 01:00:30,365
I know my mom turned around

875
01:00:30,409 --> 01:00:32,629
'cause I had discussed it
with my mom.

876
01:00:32,977 --> 01:00:36,067
And I told her:
"Would Alex hit Mariah?"

877
01:00:37,155 --> 01:00:39,200
And she just stared at me.

878
01:00:39,548 --> 01:00:42,334
She didn't say yes,
she didn't say no.

879
01:00:42,726 --> 01:00:45,859
She just put her hand here,
and she put her head down,

880
01:00:45,903 --> 01:00:47,818
and she started to cry.

881
01:00:48,122 --> 01:00:50,777
"Well, that's all
you had to tell me, Melissa."

882
01:00:50,821 --> 01:00:53,084
Because
what mother's gonna admit?

883
01:00:53,127 --> 01:00:55,129
She didn't admit it to me,

884
01:00:55,173 --> 01:00:57,392
but her actions
told me everything.

885
01:01:01,092 --> 01:01:04,138
[keys jangling]
[intriguing music]

886
01:01:05,836 --> 01:01:07,315
[door slams shut]

887
01:01:11,798 --> 01:01:13,539
My daughter Alexandra,

888
01:01:14,714 --> 01:01:17,761
she hated Mariah.

889
01:01:18,979 --> 01:01:21,765
She hated Mariah
because Mariah was...

890
01:01:22,679 --> 01:01:24,506
not her sister.

891
01:01:24,550 --> 01:01:27,509
Mariah was from another man,
and, um...

892
01:01:28,641 --> 01:01:31,252
She basically told me
she didn't love Mariah,

893
01:01:31,296 --> 01:01:34,038
and that she was never
gonna love Mariah.

894
01:01:36,518 --> 01:01:39,260
On several occasions,
I saw...

895
01:01:39,304 --> 01:01:41,088
bruises on Mariah.

896
01:01:41,654 --> 01:01:45,310
I had a clue
that they were done by Alex.

897
01:01:49,575 --> 01:01:52,099
I admitted
to causing Mariah's bruises.

898
01:01:53,840 --> 01:01:58,279
I admitted that so I could
protect my daughter Alexandra.

899
01:02:00,151 --> 01:02:02,370
I figured that

900
01:02:03,676 --> 01:02:05,983
if I said that I did it,
[sniffles]

901
01:02:07,506 --> 01:02:10,204
they wouldn't do anything
to Alex.

902
01:02:15,906 --> 01:02:17,603
[intriguing music]

903
01:02:47,154 --> 01:02:49,200
My name is Alexandra Marie.

904
01:02:52,159 --> 01:02:54,118
I am Melissa Lucio's daughter.

905
01:02:56,207 --> 01:02:57,295
[baby coos]

906
01:03:02,691 --> 01:03:05,129
I didn't really have a bond
with Mariah

907
01:03:05,172 --> 01:03:07,131
because I didn't know her.

908
01:03:08,219 --> 01:03:09,960
I guess I can say
I didn't feel like

909
01:03:10,003 --> 01:03:11,526
she was my sibling.

910
01:03:15,574 --> 01:03:19,230
I didn't hit her, no. I mean
like not in a forceful way.

911
01:03:20,187 --> 01:03:23,321
I mean maybe like a spanking
because we'd be the ones

912
01:03:23,364 --> 01:03:25,062
to discipline
our little sisters.

913
01:03:25,105 --> 01:03:26,890
We'd spank them
if they didn't listen

914
01:03:26,933 --> 01:03:28,413
or if our parents were out,

915
01:03:28,456 --> 01:03:31,242
because, you know,
they used to be doing...

916
01:03:31,285 --> 01:03:33,722
or using, you know, drugs.

917
01:03:34,419 --> 01:03:37,291
But not like what I know
my family has said

918
01:03:37,335 --> 01:03:40,207
or what everybody else thinks
or says.

919
01:03:42,079 --> 01:03:44,733
I don't remember saying

920
01:03:45,822 --> 01:03:47,606
that I pushed her

921
01:03:47,649 --> 01:03:50,174
or she fell down the stairs
and I was responsible for it.

922
01:03:53,568 --> 01:03:54,482
No.

923
01:03:56,180 --> 01:03:58,138
[intriguing music]

924
01:04:09,236 --> 01:04:10,716
[breathes deeply]

925
01:04:15,721 --> 01:04:16,896
Right in here.

926
01:04:25,600 --> 01:04:27,689
Mariah, she was two years old.

927
01:04:30,431 --> 01:04:32,999
To be honest with you,
I probably saw her

928
01:04:33,608 --> 01:04:35,088
three or four times

929
01:04:35,784 --> 01:04:37,090
since she was born.

930
01:04:39,310 --> 01:04:41,878
She always had
little horsetails.

931
01:04:41,921 --> 01:04:45,751
She had short hair, but
she had her little horsetails.

932
01:04:48,188 --> 01:04:50,930
I wish I would have known her.

933
01:04:53,977 --> 01:04:54,934
[sighs]

934
01:04:54,978 --> 01:04:56,283
We were very united

935
01:04:57,981 --> 01:04:59,069
and

936
01:05:02,376 --> 01:05:05,466
we still unite,
but it's not the same.

937
01:05:08,165 --> 01:05:10,645
It's not the same
without Melissa.

938
01:05:12,430 --> 01:05:13,648
[exhales]

939
01:05:18,697 --> 01:05:20,133
It haunts me

940
01:05:20,177 --> 01:05:23,484
because I know
that she was railroaded.

941
01:05:23,528 --> 01:05:26,270
And this was nothing
but a damn kangaroo court.

942
01:05:28,837 --> 01:05:31,753
And it would not surprise me,
if within 18 months,

943
01:05:31,797 --> 01:05:33,886
that we have a death date.

944
01:06:00,130 --> 01:06:02,784
My name is LinMarie Garsee.

945
01:06:04,612 --> 01:06:06,745
I'm a licensed
Private Investigator

946
01:06:06,788 --> 01:06:08,573
and Mitigation Specialist.

947
01:06:12,969 --> 01:06:16,059
I worked
on Melissa Lucio's appeals.

948
01:06:21,890 --> 01:06:23,501
[GPS] In 1 mile,

949
01:06:23,544 --> 01:06:26,112
take a slight right turn
onto Saint Johns Road.

950
01:06:37,210 --> 01:06:40,518
Right here's where I picked up
those papers for Melissa.

951
01:06:41,345 --> 01:06:44,087
Gilman's office, right here.

952
01:06:46,611 --> 01:06:49,135
I just don't believe
that he wanted anybody

953
01:06:49,179 --> 01:06:51,355
to review them.

954
01:06:51,398 --> 01:06:53,096
Or to, um...

955
01:06:53,748 --> 01:06:55,533
To look at this work.

956
01:06:55,576 --> 01:06:57,056
Because if he did,

957
01:06:57,100 --> 01:06:59,015
he would have been
a lot more forthcoming.

958
01:06:59,711 --> 01:07:02,540
And he definitely was not.

959
01:07:03,715 --> 01:07:07,893
I think the guy knew
that he sabotaged her case,

960
01:07:07,936 --> 01:07:09,329
so bad,

961
01:07:09,677 --> 01:07:13,377
that he didn't want anybody
to come back,

962
01:07:13,420 --> 01:07:16,771
and rework it, reinvestigate it.

963
01:07:17,729 --> 01:07:20,688
My gut told me
it was all messed up.

964
01:07:20,732 --> 01:07:23,169
That every bit of it
was messed up.

965
01:07:25,824 --> 01:07:27,782
[intriguing music]

966
01:07:29,610 --> 01:07:32,831
This is the Cameron County
courthouse,

967
01:07:32,874 --> 01:07:34,789
the district courthouse.

968
01:07:34,833 --> 01:07:37,314
This where Melissa was tried.

969
01:07:39,577 --> 01:07:41,622
A lot of the folks still
work here.

970
01:07:41,666 --> 01:07:45,496
Gilman is here,
he's up there on the 3rd floor.

971
01:08:08,301 --> 01:08:10,956
When I went to see Peter Gilman,

972
01:08:10,999 --> 01:08:13,089
I caught him in the courtroom.

973
01:08:14,960 --> 01:08:18,790
I introduced myself. I told him
I was a Private Investigator.

974
01:08:18,833 --> 01:08:21,749
And he said: "I don't hire
any of those anymore."

975
01:08:21,793 --> 01:08:23,795
And I said:
"I reckon you don't.

976
01:08:23,838 --> 01:08:27,407
"But um, I was working on
the Melissa Lucio case."

977
01:08:27,451 --> 01:08:31,368
And he goes: "Oh,
that's all done. That's over.

978
01:08:31,411 --> 01:08:32,891
"I won't talk about that."

979
01:08:36,416 --> 01:08:38,418
I said: "Would you tell me
if you knew about

980
01:08:38,853 --> 01:08:41,160
"that Alex is the one

981
01:08:41,204 --> 01:08:44,250
"that really pushed that baby
down those stairs?"

982
01:08:45,164 --> 01:08:48,211
"No, I'm... No."

983
01:08:48,776 --> 01:08:51,039
I said:
"You knew about it, Peter."

984
01:08:51,083 --> 01:08:53,607
I said:
"Because it was in your notes."

985
01:08:53,999 --> 01:08:57,785
And he says: "Why would
I ruin a teenager's life?

986
01:08:57,829 --> 01:09:00,397
He said: "She had
her whole life ahead of her."

987
01:09:00,440 --> 01:09:03,095
He said:
"She's not my client, anyways."

988
01:09:04,879 --> 01:09:06,229
And I'm like:

989
01:09:06,838 --> 01:09:08,840
"No, but Melissa
was your client.

990
01:09:08,883 --> 01:09:11,277
"Why would you send her
to death row

991
01:09:11,321 --> 01:09:15,716
"when you've been told
by witnesses

992
01:09:17,109 --> 01:09:19,677
"that she didn't do this?"

993
01:09:21,853 --> 01:09:23,811
"We're not gonna discuss
this anymore.

994
01:09:23,855 --> 01:09:26,640
I'm done discussing this case."

995
01:09:26,684 --> 01:09:29,556
And he just scooted me
right on out the door.

996
01:09:29,948 --> 01:09:31,732
[intriguing music]

997
01:09:37,564 --> 01:09:40,176
Common sense
if you connect the dots.

998
01:09:40,698 --> 01:09:43,831
It does look a little
bit peculiar.

999
01:09:48,880 --> 01:09:50,969
I think it was done on purpose.

1000
01:09:54,451 --> 01:09:56,627
I think he was looking
for a better job.

1001
01:09:56,670 --> 01:10:00,065
Because immediately after
her case ended

1002
01:10:00,108 --> 01:10:01,632
and she went to death row,

1003
01:10:01,675 --> 01:10:04,200
he was hired down
at the DA's office,

1004
01:10:04,809 --> 01:10:09,117
making more money than those
who had already been there.

1005
01:10:26,918 --> 01:10:28,963
My name is Peter Gilman.

1006
01:10:31,314 --> 01:10:35,274
I was Melissa Lucio's
attorney in 2007.

1007
01:10:39,322 --> 01:10:40,888
If anybody would have told me

1008
01:10:40,932 --> 01:10:42,934
that I was gonna go work
for the DA,

1009
01:10:42,977 --> 01:10:45,328
I'd laugh and say you're crazy.

1010
01:10:49,462 --> 01:10:54,032
When I met Melissa Lucio,
she was very reserved,

1011
01:10:54,075 --> 01:10:56,513
very docile.

1012
01:10:56,556 --> 01:10:59,385
She was...
Didn't have much expression.

1013
01:10:59,429 --> 01:11:03,171
She just kinda blankly looked
at me.

1014
01:11:03,215 --> 01:11:05,304
It was just very difficult

1015
01:11:05,348 --> 01:11:07,393
to try and defend somebody

1016
01:11:07,437 --> 01:11:10,309
that didn't seem to want

1017
01:11:10,353 --> 01:11:12,355
a Defense Attorney there.

1018
01:11:12,398 --> 01:11:16,010
Or that everything
was gonna be alright.

1019
01:11:16,054 --> 01:11:20,058
And she just didn't feel like
she had to say much of anything.

1020
01:11:21,189 --> 01:11:23,017
[intriguing music]

1021
01:11:27,065 --> 01:11:29,023
She was not a good mother.

1022
01:11:33,463 --> 01:11:35,987
Did she kill her child?
I don't know.

1023
01:11:40,121 --> 01:11:42,298
There were children saying

1024
01:11:42,341 --> 01:11:45,823
that their sister had fallen
down the stairs.

1025
01:11:46,476 --> 01:11:49,522
The question was:
Was she pushed?

1026
01:11:49,566 --> 01:11:51,829
Uh, where was mom?

1027
01:11:51,872 --> 01:11:53,004
What happened?

1028
01:11:53,047 --> 01:11:55,049
[intriguing music]

1029
01:11:58,009 --> 01:11:59,837
I remember talking

1030
01:11:59,880 --> 01:12:03,580
to all of the other kids.
But I never had a feeling

1031
01:12:03,623 --> 01:12:07,279
that they could tell me anything as to what happened.

1032
01:12:13,372 --> 01:12:17,245
I didn't feel like any of
the children would be helpful.

1033
01:12:23,948 --> 01:12:29,388
The children did not have much discipline, if any, growing up.

1034
01:12:29,432 --> 01:12:31,869
And I doubt seriously whether

1035
01:12:31,912 --> 01:12:34,437
they would come across
in a courtroom

1036
01:12:34,480 --> 01:12:38,441
without getting up and running
around thinking this is great.

1037
01:12:40,181 --> 01:12:43,359
To try and get these children
to sit still long enough

1038
01:12:43,402 --> 01:12:45,099
to talk to you

1039
01:12:45,143 --> 01:12:49,060
and give you some idea
as to what happened,

1040
01:12:49,103 --> 01:12:50,409
they couldn't do that.

1041
01:12:50,453 --> 01:12:52,629
I just think the jury would be

1042
01:12:53,020 --> 01:12:55,501
upset and turned off.

1043
01:12:56,415 --> 01:12:59,287
You don't wanna get
your jury upset

1044
01:12:59,853 --> 01:13:02,639
with anything that you're doing.

1045
01:13:15,347 --> 01:13:18,611
[Interviewer] Did you hear
that one of the daughters

1046
01:13:18,655 --> 01:13:20,831
was abusive to Mariah?

1047
01:13:22,789 --> 01:13:24,487
[stutters]

1048
01:13:24,530 --> 01:13:26,967
That kind of sounds right.

1049
01:13:27,011 --> 01:13:30,580
I... I don't remember,
I don't have my file any longer.

1050
01:13:30,623 --> 01:13:33,104
Um, no, I don't remember.

1051
01:13:36,020 --> 01:13:39,850
Every information
that we had available to us

1052
01:13:39,893 --> 01:13:41,678
we tried to use.

1053
01:13:41,721 --> 01:13:45,421
We listened to them
and we did whatever we could.

1054
01:13:46,334 --> 01:13:48,989
We had nothing
to lose in hindsight,

1055
01:13:49,033 --> 01:13:50,687
[stutters]

1056
01:13:50,730 --> 01:13:52,732
and maybe we couldn't do
any worse.

1057
01:13:52,776 --> 01:13:54,342
So we could've maybe.

1058
01:13:54,691 --> 01:13:57,824
But would we have saved
her life more?

1059
01:13:57,868 --> 01:13:59,826
No, I don't know.

1060
01:14:13,666 --> 01:14:15,102
[birds chirping]

1061
01:14:39,736 --> 01:14:42,434
[Michelle] How do you feel about
seeing your mom?

1062
01:14:43,000 --> 01:14:44,958
[Bobby] Um, scared.

1063
01:14:45,002 --> 01:14:46,743
I mean and excited, you know.

1064
01:14:47,395 --> 01:14:49,267
I haven't seen her in a while.

1065
01:14:49,310 --> 01:14:52,749
So you know, it's just these mixed emotions.

1066
01:14:53,489 --> 01:14:56,492
How old were you when
you last saw her?

1067
01:14:56,535 --> 01:14:58,885
Maybe eight or nine.

1068
01:15:00,974 --> 01:15:03,020
It's been a long time.

1069
01:15:05,805 --> 01:15:07,720
[somber music]

1070
01:15:21,517 --> 01:15:22,561
"Dear Mom,

1071
01:15:24,345 --> 01:15:28,132
"I remember when I was younger, I was the tallest in my class.

1072
01:15:28,611 --> 01:15:31,483
"I'm so short now,
it's not even funny.

1073
01:15:31,527 --> 01:15:33,398
"What happened?"
[chuckles]

1074
01:15:38,621 --> 01:15:42,233
"I know it must be lonely
not having anyone to talk to,

1075
01:15:42,276 --> 01:15:44,583
"and I just think
that me writing to you

1076
01:15:44,627 --> 01:15:47,325
"will bring some light
where there is darkness.

1077
01:15:53,113 --> 01:15:54,724
"We all love you, Mom.

1078
01:15:54,767 --> 01:15:56,595
"Just because
we all don't write to you

1079
01:15:56,639 --> 01:15:59,250
"doesn't mean
we don't think about you.

1080
01:16:01,208 --> 01:16:02,993
"Adriana and Sara,

1081
01:16:03,036 --> 01:16:05,996
"they have your drawings
hung up in their room.

1082
01:16:06,039 --> 01:16:08,564
"I keep all your birthday cards.

1083
01:16:15,527 --> 01:16:18,617
"We've all dealt with
what happened in our own way.

1084
01:16:19,052 --> 01:16:21,315
"I'm not gonna say
it wasn't hard growing up,

1085
01:16:21,359 --> 01:16:23,187
because it was.

1086
01:16:23,230 --> 01:16:26,233
"Not knowing if you were okay
or if you were eating.

1087
01:16:29,889 --> 01:16:33,676
"I wanna be a lawyer because
of you and our situation.

1088
01:16:33,719 --> 01:16:36,330
"But I don't think
I'll be able to handle it.

1089
01:16:36,809 --> 01:16:38,724
"I don't think I'm good enough.

1090
01:16:43,424 --> 01:16:46,384
"I hope and pray you get
your innocence.

1091
01:16:47,254 --> 01:16:50,562
"If it doesn't go through,
and you get the death penalty,

1092
01:16:50,606 --> 01:16:53,304
"I want you to know
that you're loved.

1093
01:16:54,087 --> 01:16:57,351
"But not only by Grandma
or Sonya or the rest,

1094
01:16:57,395 --> 01:16:58,962
"but by your children.

1095
01:17:00,224 --> 01:17:01,355
"Bobby."

1096
01:17:25,336 --> 01:17:27,425
[Michelle] She was
really surprised.

1097
01:17:27,468 --> 01:17:29,296
[Bobby] She was.
She got all shocked.

1098
01:17:29,993 --> 01:17:31,734
I was just really nervous.

1099
01:17:31,777 --> 01:17:34,867
Then whenever we got to
the gate, I was calming down.

1100
01:17:34,911 --> 01:17:36,652
Though whenever I saw her,

1101
01:17:36,695 --> 01:17:39,176
and she was all surprised,
I got happy.

1102
01:17:39,219 --> 01:17:40,917
And I was like: "It's my mom."

1103
01:17:41,482 --> 01:17:43,223
Nothing has changed.

1104
01:17:43,963 --> 01:17:45,573
It was nice, I liked it.

1105
01:17:46,662 --> 01:17:48,185
Yeah.

1106
01:17:48,228 --> 01:17:50,491
She's still the same,
the way she's always been.

1107
01:17:50,970 --> 01:17:52,798
She's...

1108
01:17:52,842 --> 01:17:56,062
Asking about everybody,
Rene, Richard, all her kids.

1109
01:18:00,197 --> 01:18:02,286
She's missed out on a lot
with you

1110
01:18:02,329 --> 01:18:04,984
and your brothers and sisters,

1111
01:18:05,028 --> 01:18:06,769
and, you know.

1112
01:18:06,812 --> 01:18:08,248
It's even harder

1113
01:18:08,292 --> 01:18:10,163
when she doesn't get to hear
from you all.

1114
01:18:10,207 --> 01:18:11,556
You know, so.

1115
01:18:11,991 --> 01:18:13,297
[stutters]

1116
01:18:13,340 --> 01:18:15,473
She depends on other people

1117
01:18:15,516 --> 01:18:17,649
to tell her how her kids
are doing.

1118
01:18:20,652 --> 01:18:22,306
We'll come again
to see her soon.

1119
01:18:22,349 --> 01:18:23,176
Mm-hm.

1120
01:18:31,358 --> 01:18:33,317
[intriguing music]

1121
01:18:53,032 --> 01:18:55,556
[Melissa] When the jury
came back

1122
01:18:56,906 --> 01:19:00,518
and said
that they found me guilty,

1123
01:19:03,869 --> 01:19:05,958
I was shocked.

1124
01:19:07,830 --> 01:19:10,876
But I was confused.

1125
01:19:11,442 --> 01:19:13,487
I was confused.
I...

1126
01:19:13,531 --> 01:19:16,186
Even though I did hear
the word "guilty",

1127
01:19:17,491 --> 01:19:19,537
I didn't wanna accept it.

1128
01:19:20,190 --> 01:19:22,018
I think I could...
[stutters]

1129
01:19:22,061 --> 01:19:25,848
The best way to describe it
is I felt like I was in a dream

1130
01:19:25,891 --> 01:19:29,939
and that I will wake up and
I will be at home with my kids.

1131
01:19:30,678 --> 01:19:32,202
And, uh...

1132
01:19:33,725 --> 01:19:36,641
Of course the reporters
were there, everybody was there,

1133
01:19:36,684 --> 01:19:38,077
my family.

1134
01:19:38,121 --> 01:19:40,166
You know, everybody
was screaming and crying,

1135
01:19:40,210 --> 01:19:43,039
and they led me out
from the courtroom

1136
01:19:43,082 --> 01:19:45,215
and they took me back
to my cell.

1137
01:19:45,258 --> 01:19:48,044
I remember, uh, I slept.

1138
01:19:48,087 --> 01:19:50,524
I... I just tried to block out

1139
01:19:50,568 --> 01:19:54,050
everything that had happened
in that courtroom.

1140
01:20:02,058 --> 01:20:05,148
[Sonya] This trial was

1141
01:20:05,191 --> 01:20:07,063
a circus.

1142
01:20:07,106 --> 01:20:09,805
There's no other way
of explaining it.

1143
01:20:13,896 --> 01:20:17,203
The jury laughs
with the prosecution,

1144
01:20:17,247 --> 01:20:18,901
they're laughing
with the judge.

1145
01:20:18,944 --> 01:20:20,859
And Melissa's sitting there
crying,

1146
01:20:20,903 --> 01:20:22,165
you know, tearing.

1147
01:20:22,208 --> 01:20:24,341
We're watching all that.

1148
01:20:24,384 --> 01:20:27,648
How... That is just bizarre.

1149
01:20:31,000 --> 01:20:34,003
They jumped for joy

1150
01:20:34,046 --> 01:20:37,702
when Melissa was given
the death penalty.

1151
01:20:43,534 --> 01:20:45,318
[Diane] Nobody was surprised.

1152
01:20:46,929 --> 01:20:49,322
It was something
they already expected.

1153
01:20:49,366 --> 01:20:51,759
Like if it was something
that was planned.

1154
01:20:52,935 --> 01:20:56,199
It was all just laughs
and like a high-five.

1155
01:20:56,242 --> 01:20:58,244
And you know, it was just...

1156
01:20:58,941 --> 01:21:00,507
Everybody was happy

1157
01:21:01,857 --> 01:21:05,121
that she got the death penalty. That she was found guilty.

1158
01:21:08,385 --> 01:21:10,343
[Melissa] There was a lot
going on.

1159
01:21:11,910 --> 01:21:15,000
It was, you know,
during the election time,

1160
01:21:15,044 --> 01:21:17,089
and Armando Villalobos

1161
01:21:17,133 --> 01:21:19,613
was running
again for DA, so....

1162
01:21:19,657 --> 01:21:22,529
He wanted to make sure
that I was convicted.

1163
01:21:25,141 --> 01:21:27,665
I'm the first Hispanic woman
on death row.

1164
01:21:27,708 --> 01:21:30,929
So this was a huge case for him.

1165
01:21:30,973 --> 01:21:32,670
[intriguing music]

1166
01:21:33,584 --> 01:21:34,977
[Margaret Schmucker] In Texas
you have to prove

1167
01:21:35,020 --> 01:21:36,848
you're hard on crime

1168
01:21:36,892 --> 01:21:39,720
in order to get reelected as
a District Attorney.

1169
01:21:40,678 --> 01:21:43,550
While Texas has
quite a few people on death row,

1170
01:21:43,594 --> 01:21:45,857
the vast majority of them
are men.

1171
01:21:45,901 --> 01:21:49,600
Um, it would have been
the first time in many years

1172
01:21:49,643 --> 01:21:52,037
that the Cameron County DA's
office

1173
01:21:52,081 --> 01:21:54,910
prosecuted a woman
for a capital murder.

1174
01:21:54,953 --> 01:21:57,521
So that would have made
for great press.

1175
01:21:57,564 --> 01:22:00,698
I'm Armando Villalobos,
Cameron Country DA,

1176
01:22:01,177 --> 01:22:03,483
and this is my office.
[cell door closes]

1177
01:22:03,527 --> 01:22:06,269
Last year,
we worked on 26,000 cases

1178
01:22:06,312 --> 01:22:07,879
with a staff of 100 people,

1179
01:22:07,923 --> 01:22:09,750
and a budget
of 5 million dollars.

1180
01:22:09,794 --> 01:22:11,317
[cell door closes]

1181
01:22:11,361 --> 01:22:12,971
We've finalized
over 10,000 cases.

1182
01:22:13,015 --> 01:22:15,234
As a prosecutor,
I deal in facts.

1183
01:22:15,278 --> 01:22:17,193
And the fact
is I need your vote

1184
01:22:17,236 --> 01:22:20,936
to help me see that justice
is done in Cameron County.

1185
01:22:23,721 --> 01:22:25,418
[Margaret Schmucker]
The DA's office

1186
01:22:25,462 --> 01:22:28,552
was getting hammered
in the media for having let

1187
01:22:28,595 --> 01:22:31,337
an individual who pled guilty
to a murder,

1188
01:22:31,381 --> 01:22:33,818
literally walk out
of the court house free.

1189
01:22:44,568 --> 01:22:46,962
So when you have someone
who pled guilty

1190
01:22:47,005 --> 01:22:48,702
to committing murder,

1191
01:22:48,746 --> 01:22:50,835
and you've allowed them
to walk out of the court house

1192
01:22:50,878 --> 01:22:52,793
and just disappear.

1193
01:22:52,837 --> 01:22:55,361
That obviously is not going
to look very good

1194
01:22:55,405 --> 01:22:57,276
to your voting constituents.

1195
01:22:57,320 --> 01:23:00,932
Um, you're gonna get blasted
in the media.

1196
01:23:00,976 --> 01:23:03,456
And you're gonna need to do
something

1197
01:23:03,500 --> 01:23:06,024
to rehabilitate
your public image

1198
01:23:06,068 --> 01:23:09,332
in order to get reelected.

1199
01:23:09,375 --> 01:23:12,117
And so you're going to take
the first opportunity

1200
01:23:12,161 --> 01:23:13,510
to come your way.

1201
01:23:18,776 --> 01:23:20,430
And it just so happened

1202
01:23:20,473 --> 01:23:23,085
that five days later
Mariah died.

1203
01:23:26,218 --> 01:23:29,221
Melissa, she was a prime target.

1204
01:23:29,265 --> 01:23:31,223
She was an easy mark.

1205
01:23:31,267 --> 01:23:34,835
Somebody that the DA's office felt that they could take down.

1206
01:23:35,532 --> 01:23:40,493
And they had a poor,
poorly educated mother

1207
01:23:40,537 --> 01:23:44,454
who looked for all the world
like she was responsible.

1208
01:23:44,497 --> 01:23:46,282
[dramatic music]

1209
01:25:05,143 --> 01:25:07,102
My name is Michael Wynne.

1210
01:25:08,451 --> 01:25:10,757
I was an Assistant
United States Attorney

1211
01:25:10,801 --> 01:25:14,718
and the lead prosecutor
against Armando Villalobos.

1212
01:25:19,026 --> 01:25:21,594
Bribery was endemic.

1213
01:25:23,466 --> 01:25:24,858
Armando Villalobos

1214
01:25:24,902 --> 01:25:27,731
profited
from the place he was in,

1215
01:25:27,774 --> 01:25:30,995
and that is in the middle of
a drug cartel.

1216
01:25:32,127 --> 01:25:35,173
The drugs would go north,
the money would come south,

1217
01:25:35,217 --> 01:25:38,872
in return for a cut
of the seized money.

1218
01:25:40,396 --> 01:25:44,748
He'd be compensated for, um...

1219
01:25:44,791 --> 01:25:47,881
favorable treatment
in criminal cases.

1220
01:25:47,925 --> 01:25:50,754
Lesser pleadings,

1221
01:25:50,797 --> 01:25:53,713
not revoking probations,

1222
01:25:53,757 --> 01:25:58,892
but also that he used
his strong arm and his influence

1223
01:25:58,936 --> 01:26:01,286
to get his way in the community.

1224
01:26:01,330 --> 01:26:04,550
And that many people
were intimidated by him.

1225
01:26:05,508 --> 01:26:08,206
So if you didn't have
the resources

1226
01:26:08,250 --> 01:26:11,383
then you're subject
to whatever sentence

1227
01:26:11,427 --> 01:26:14,647
the District Attorney decides
to meet out.

1228
01:26:14,691 --> 01:26:17,215
Which also sends a lesson
to everybody else

1229
01:26:17,259 --> 01:26:20,000
that you better get an attorney
who plays ball.

1230
01:26:20,914 --> 01:26:22,960
[intriguing music]

1231
01:26:25,092 --> 01:26:28,008
He was a rising political star.

1232
01:26:28,052 --> 01:26:29,923
He was running for Congress,

1233
01:26:29,967 --> 01:26:32,187
and had every intention
of winning.

1234
01:26:33,013 --> 01:26:37,061
So I made it my mission
to stop him.

1235
01:26:40,325 --> 01:26:42,240
What struck me about him

1236
01:26:42,284 --> 01:26:46,201
was the number of cases
where he personally

1237
01:26:46,244 --> 01:26:47,593
came in and took over.

1238
01:26:51,380 --> 01:26:54,557
It is a very,
very catholic area,

1239
01:26:54,600 --> 01:26:57,081
and appealing
to that demographic

1240
01:26:57,124 --> 01:27:00,563
is key to any type
of political success.

1241
01:27:02,695 --> 01:27:04,393
[Church bell rings]

1242
01:27:04,436 --> 01:27:09,093
A case involving potential
abuse of a child,

1243
01:27:09,136 --> 01:27:11,748
alleged sexual misconduct,

1244
01:27:12,183 --> 01:27:14,272
those are the cases

1245
01:27:14,316 --> 01:27:17,754
that Mr. Villalobos
would take on.

1246
01:27:17,797 --> 01:27:20,800
Uh, try to put his face in front

1247
01:27:20,844 --> 01:27:23,325
as the crusader for justice.

1248
01:27:27,459 --> 01:27:30,419
There are several cases

1249
01:27:30,767 --> 01:27:34,988
where Mr. Villalobos put people on death row.

1250
01:27:35,032 --> 01:27:37,904
And yes, every single one
of those cases

1251
01:27:37,948 --> 01:27:39,863
should be examined.

1252
01:27:40,907 --> 01:27:42,561
[soft music]

1253
01:27:59,230 --> 01:28:01,493
[Alfredo Padilla] The case was
defended well,

1254
01:28:02,842 --> 01:28:04,322
all fair and impartial.

1255
01:28:05,018 --> 01:28:07,891
Cameron Country jurors
made a decision

1256
01:28:07,934 --> 01:28:11,068
based on the evidence,
and the evidence alone.

1257
01:28:13,766 --> 01:28:15,464
If she was executed?

1258
01:28:15,899 --> 01:28:19,076
The system worked,
that's what the law allows.

1259
01:28:19,119 --> 01:28:20,425
She had her opportunity,

1260
01:28:20,469 --> 01:28:22,471
she had her defense,
her appeals.

1261
01:28:22,514 --> 01:28:25,343
The appeals
is a long appeal process.

1262
01:28:25,387 --> 01:28:26,997
Look, it was 10 years ago.

1263
01:28:31,175 --> 01:28:34,570
She was given the option of doing 30 years and come out,

1264
01:28:34,613 --> 01:28:36,267
and she chose not to.

1265
01:28:38,617 --> 01:28:42,229
Don't blame the system,
don't blame the attorneys,

1266
01:28:42,273 --> 01:28:45,581
because ultimately, it was her
decision to make, you know.

1267
01:28:45,624 --> 01:28:48,584
And in my opinion,
and this is my own opinion,

1268
01:28:48,627 --> 01:28:51,151
if she was arrogant enough
not to think, well you know,

1269
01:28:51,195 --> 01:28:52,805
"They won't put me in prison,

1270
01:28:52,849 --> 01:28:56,418
"I'm gonna explain my way
out of it or whatever",

1271
01:28:56,461 --> 01:28:58,898
then she has nobody to blame
but herself.

1272
01:28:59,943 --> 01:29:02,249
She has nobody to blame
but herself.

1273
01:29:02,293 --> 01:29:03,773
You know, people say:

1274
01:29:03,816 --> 01:29:06,341
"She shouldn't be there,
or you know."

1275
01:29:06,384 --> 01:29:08,125
She put herself there.

1276
01:29:08,168 --> 01:29:09,909
Whose fault is it?

1277
01:29:10,780 --> 01:29:14,000
Whose fault is it that
she's there, if it's not hers?

1278
01:29:15,828 --> 01:29:17,482
[intriguing music]

1279
01:30:02,919 --> 01:30:05,182
My name is Thomas Young.

1280
01:30:05,225 --> 01:30:07,402
I am a forensic pathologist.

1281
01:30:08,925 --> 01:30:11,406
The appellate attorney
contacted me,

1282
01:30:11,971 --> 01:30:14,713
and I was asked
to review the evidence

1283
01:30:14,757 --> 01:30:18,413
and the autopsy findings
on the case involving Mariah.

1284
01:30:27,987 --> 01:30:30,686
According to witnesses
who were there,

1285
01:30:30,729 --> 01:30:33,297
the child had fallen down
the stairs.

1286
01:30:36,474 --> 01:30:38,258
There are witnesses
who didn't see

1287
01:30:38,302 --> 01:30:40,173
any bruising on the child

1288
01:30:40,217 --> 01:30:41,871
shortly after the fall,

1289
01:30:41,914 --> 01:30:44,569
or even some period
of time afterward.

1290
01:30:44,613 --> 01:30:46,876
But then as time went on,

1291
01:30:46,919 --> 01:30:49,095
these bruises started
to show up,

1292
01:30:49,139 --> 01:30:50,836
they started to develop.

1293
01:30:54,318 --> 01:30:57,713
The bruising is the result
of brain injury.

1294
01:30:59,497 --> 01:31:01,847
There are scientific
explanations:

1295
01:31:01,891 --> 01:31:03,893
The brain falls apart,

1296
01:31:04,197 --> 01:31:07,766
there are substances that are
released into the bloodstream

1297
01:31:08,288 --> 01:31:12,641
that will cause
a cascade of reactions.

1298
01:31:14,643 --> 01:31:18,342
Even previous injuries
will start to become unmasked.

1299
01:31:19,125 --> 01:31:22,172
All of a sudden, that's going
to start showing up.

1300
01:31:22,564 --> 01:31:25,610
And even minor movement

1301
01:31:26,437 --> 01:31:29,484
and motion and handling
of the child

1302
01:31:29,527 --> 01:31:31,616
will all of a sudden start
to develop

1303
01:31:31,660 --> 01:31:33,226
lots and lots of bruises.

1304
01:31:33,270 --> 01:31:35,185
Because the child's not clotting
anymore.

1305
01:31:37,187 --> 01:31:39,537
Even lying down on the bed,

1306
01:31:39,581 --> 01:31:43,628
just from the contact of the bed with the skin,

1307
01:31:43,672 --> 01:31:46,805
can cause bruises
in this kind of a situation.

1308
01:31:46,849 --> 01:31:48,459
[soft music]

1309
01:31:51,506 --> 01:31:54,030
What the doctor did
in this case:

1310
01:31:54,421 --> 01:31:57,294
She saw a horribly
bruised child,

1311
01:31:58,251 --> 01:32:01,603
and she concluded that this had to be child abuse.

1312
01:32:01,646 --> 01:32:03,126
That's what she did.

1313
01:32:06,825 --> 01:32:10,786
This kind of situation here
where a doctor does an autopsy,

1314
01:32:11,743 --> 01:32:13,571
concludes there's child abuse.

1315
01:32:13,615 --> 01:32:16,008
Something that nobody
ever witnessed or saw

1316
01:32:16,052 --> 01:32:19,011
or even had any evidence of.

1317
01:32:20,622 --> 01:32:22,580
The doctor telling the police,

1318
01:32:22,624 --> 01:32:26,802
and then the police obtaining
a confession and making a case.

1319
01:32:27,498 --> 01:32:30,370
This sort of problem
happens all the time.

1320
01:32:30,719 --> 01:32:34,461
Uh, lots of people
get locked in jail for it.

1321
01:32:35,724 --> 01:32:37,464
And it's a tragedy.

1322
01:32:37,508 --> 01:32:38,988
It's a tragedy.

1323
01:32:40,511 --> 01:32:42,078
[intriguing music]

1324
01:33:06,102 --> 01:33:08,017
[Diane] It's hard to imagine
she's sitting there

1325
01:33:08,060 --> 01:33:10,323
behind four walls,

1326
01:33:12,238 --> 01:33:13,544
day after day,

1327
01:33:14,893 --> 01:33:16,416
month after month,

1328
01:33:18,767 --> 01:33:20,159
for over ten years.

1329
01:33:31,562 --> 01:33:33,129
I haven't written to her,

1330
01:33:39,483 --> 01:33:41,616
I would say
for about seven years.

1331
01:33:46,969 --> 01:33:48,318
Yeah.

1332
01:33:57,066 --> 01:33:58,763
I just try to...

1333
01:33:59,938 --> 01:34:03,289
block out that she's...
where she's at.

1334
01:34:05,857 --> 01:34:09,426
I have to keep living.
I have a family of mine own.

1335
01:34:14,561 --> 01:34:17,695
She's there.
We know she's there.

1336
01:34:17,739 --> 01:34:20,306
We're grateful
that she's still alive,

1337
01:34:21,177 --> 01:34:22,918
but we try to block it

1338
01:34:22,961 --> 01:34:26,617
because nobody knows
how we feel,

1339
01:34:26,661 --> 01:34:28,706
nobody walks in our shoes.

1340
01:34:28,750 --> 01:34:31,709
You can say: "You haven't
written? She's your sister."

1341
01:34:31,753 --> 01:34:34,756
But sitting down, starting...
We've started letters.

1342
01:34:34,799 --> 01:34:38,498
I'm sure she's started a letter,
and it's hard to finish.

1343
01:34:38,542 --> 01:34:40,936
Where do you start?
Where do you end?

1344
01:34:40,979 --> 01:34:43,939
What do you say in between all
that time you haven't written?

1345
01:34:43,982 --> 01:34:45,680
And I know it's...

1346
01:34:45,723 --> 01:34:48,813
Maybe a letter that
just says hi, she'd appreciate.

1347
01:34:54,471 --> 01:34:56,516
But it's like opening up

1348
01:34:57,343 --> 01:34:58,823
our wounds.

1349
01:35:02,958 --> 01:35:05,395
Nobody knows
what we've been through,

1350
01:35:05,438 --> 01:35:07,092
what we suffered.

1351
01:35:08,224 --> 01:35:09,051
[sniffles]

1352
01:35:09,965 --> 01:35:12,184
How hard it is for us to know

1353
01:35:12,228 --> 01:35:14,796
that she's on death row
when she shouldn't be.

1354
01:35:14,839 --> 01:35:18,756
And yet there's nobody
to set her free.

1355
01:35:20,976 --> 01:35:22,717
She doesn't belong there.

1356
01:35:23,239 --> 01:35:26,285
But yet we need to continue
to live.

1357
01:35:38,820 --> 01:35:41,126
[somber music]

1358
01:36:16,074 --> 01:36:18,729
[Melissa] What I miss
about the outside world:

1359
01:36:21,384 --> 01:36:24,387
sitting at the kitchen table
with all my children,

1360
01:36:27,042 --> 01:36:28,652
eating my food,

1361
01:36:29,218 --> 01:36:31,698
telling me:
"Mom, I want some more."

1362
01:36:32,917 --> 01:36:34,484
That's my memory.

1363
01:36:34,527 --> 01:36:37,052
I always sit down
and think about all my children

1364
01:36:37,095 --> 01:36:39,402
at the kitchen table eating

1365
01:36:40,055 --> 01:36:43,362
and saying:
"Yum, this is delicious, Mom."

1366
01:36:47,976 --> 01:36:50,239
You know, just being able

1367
01:36:50,630 --> 01:36:53,633
to see their expression
on their faces,

1368
01:36:54,460 --> 01:36:56,767
and just hear them call me,

1369
01:36:56,811 --> 01:36:58,464
call my name out.

1370
01:37:07,647 --> 01:37:10,650
Just being able to hold them,

1371
01:37:10,694 --> 01:37:14,698
and smell their hair.
Their body scent is just...

1372
01:37:15,655 --> 01:37:17,744
something that I miss a lot.

1373
01:37:20,225 --> 01:37:21,836
[kids laugh]

1374
01:37:28,930 --> 01:37:31,019
The getting together
with family,

1375
01:37:31,976 --> 01:37:35,110
being able to go dancing,

1376
01:37:37,677 --> 01:37:41,943
being able to spend time
with my mom.

1377
01:37:51,866 --> 01:37:54,042
The traffic, the cars,

1378
01:37:56,958 --> 01:37:59,308
the people, the music...

1379
01:38:03,268 --> 01:38:05,314
[birds chirping]

1380
01:38:05,967 --> 01:38:07,969
...the birds chirping,

1381
01:38:14,410 --> 01:38:16,673
just the smell of nature,

1382
01:38:16,716 --> 01:38:19,937
the smell of fresh cut grass.

1383
01:38:25,812 --> 01:38:27,597
So many things

1384
01:38:29,904 --> 01:38:31,949
that I took for granted.

1385
01:38:40,784 --> 01:38:43,961
If I was out there, I would have my children with me.

1386
01:38:50,489 --> 01:38:51,969
I'm not afraid.

1387
01:38:55,886 --> 01:38:59,063
I know that one day
we will be reunited again.