Melissa Lucio, a Texas death row inmate convicted of killing her 2-year-old daughter in 2007, is “actually innocent” and should be freed, according to Judge Arturo Nelson, who has urged her conviction and death sentence be overturned.

Lucio’s case is now before the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals, with new evidence suggesting her daughter’s fatal injuries were caused by a fall down stairs, not abuse.

Her case has drawn wide support, including from Kim Kardashian, Amanda Knox, and Texas State Rep. Jeff Leach.

Lucio, who has spent 16 years on death row, was granted a reprieve from execution in 2022, NBC News has reported.

Advocates, including the Innocence Project, argue her conviction was a tragic miscarriage of justice.

Written by B.C. Begley