Kim Kardashian is using her celebrity to try to get Texas Gov. Greg Abbott (R) to stop the execution of a mother convicted in 2007 of brutally beating her two-year-old daughter to death.
Kardashian posted on her Twitter account this week that Melissa Lucio “falsely pleaded guilty” to killing her daughter, whose death, Kardashian claims, was the result of “a tragic accident.”
Lucio is scheduled to be executed on April 27.
“I recently just read about the case of Melissa Lucio and wanted to share her story with you. She has been on death row for over 14 years for her daughter’s death that was a tragic accident,” the 41-year-old tweeted. “Her 2-year old daughter Mariah fell down a flight of stairs and two days later passed away while taking a nap. After she called for help, she was taken into custody by the police.”
“Melissa is a survivor of abuse and domestic violence herself and after being interrogated for hours and falsely pleaded guilty,” Kardashian wrote. “She wanted the interrogation to end, but police made her words out to be a confession.”
The reality TV star plugged a petition from the Innocence Project calling on Gov. Abbott to stop the execution.
“It’s stories like Melissa’s that make me speak so loud about the death penalty in general and why it should be banned when innocent people are suffering,” Kardashian said.
According to reporting from ValleyCentral, Lucio admitted to police that “she was responsible” for the baby’s body being covered in bruises and the bite mark, but contended she died by falling down a flight of stairs:
On the night of the incident, Lucio and the child’s father contacted paramedics to their Harlingen home in reference to their daughter. Investigators found Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter covered in bruises, bite marks, and a broken arm. EMT personnel stated the child was not breathing and had nobody near her when they arrived.
Lucio told police that her daughter fell down the stairs and that caused her death, according to court documents. However, Lucio also stated she was responsible for the bite mark and bruise marks on her body.
