Texas death row prisoner Melissa Lucio granted stay of execution

Mexican American woman, 52, who was due to be put to death on Wednesday, wins time for court to consider new evidence

The Texas court of criminal appeals has issued a stay of execution for Melissa Lucio, the Mexican-American woman who was set to be judicially killed within 48 hours, ordering a lower court to consider new evidence of her innocence in the death of her two-year-old daughter Mariah.

The court issued its order on Monday as the final clock was ticking on Lucio's transfer to the death chamber. She would have been the first Hispanic woman executed by Texas.