Melissa Lucio's supporters hold nationwide rallies days before scheduled execution
HOUSTON, Texas -- Supporters spent Saturday organizing rallies in 16 cities across the U.S. in an attempt to save Melissa Lucio's life.
Lucio is on death row after being convicted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter Mariah in South Texas in 2007.
During Saturday's rallies, organizers plan to collect signatures to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles as well as Texas Gov. Greg Abbott Monday in Austin.
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Rallies are planned in Houston, Atlanta, Austin, Boston, Brownsville, Cleveland, OH, Columbus, OH, Dallas, El Paso, Fort Worth, Greensboro, NC, Harlingen, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, San Antonio and Washington, D.C.
The Houston rally was scheduled for 12 p.m. Saturday in Guadalupe Plaza on Runnels Street.
Lucio's supporters say she was pressured into confessing that she beat Mariah to death.
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Later Lucio said the child fell down a staircase days before paramedics took her to the hospital.
Lucio's execution is scheduled for April 27.
Gov. Abbott could step in and delay the execution. He also could grant clemency if the majority of the state's Board of Pardons and Paroles votes to do so.
