Sabrina Van Tassel’s portrait of the first Hispanic woman on death row is now streaming on Hulu. Variety confirms the platform picked up U.S. streaming rights to “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” which follows Melissa Lucio as she makes her last appeal.
Lucio was convicted for the murder of her two-year-old daughter, who died of blunt head trauma, and has spent over a decade on death row. But “The State of Texas vs. Melissa” suggests that her sentencing was and is a major miscarriage of justice. Another one of her children told police that his sister had fallen down the stairs, and the DA who tried Lucio’s case, Armando Villalobos, has a history of bribery and corruption.
“Lucio’s conviction was overturned in July 2019 by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, but the State of Texas immediately appealed that ruling,” the source details. “And in February, a court of appeals reversed the 2019 grant of relief by a vote of 10 to 7 and her hopes for exoneration now lie in the U.S. Supreme Court, which only takes 1% of all cases. Lucio could receive an execution date any day.”
“When I started the film I knew it was a timely piece. Now, every [festival] selection, every article is an opportunity to make noise about her case,” Van Tassel said. “This is the best example of how you can bring awareness through art and hope to make a difference, have a decisive impact.”
“The State of Texas vs. Melissa” is also available to rent or purchase on digital platforms including Apple TV and Amazon Prime Video. It’s set to make its North American premiere at Tribeca this year and will also screen at the Deauville American Film Festival. The doc has previously been selected for DocLondon, Madrid Human Rights Film Fest, and other festivals.
When we asked Van Tassel what she hopes audiences will think about after seeing “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” she said, “Not to judge a person hastily based on what they represent in the eyes of society, but to deal with the facts instead. Most defendants who are victims of wrongful convictions are very flawed characters who had broken lives. They might not have been model citizens, but that doesn’t mean that they’re guilty of the crime of which they are accused.”
She continued, “I would also like people to realize that death row targets the poor, and it targets Black and Brown lives. It is a very unjust system. You probably would not be on death row if you were a rich white male. However, you may well be on death row because you have a court appointed attorney who doesn’t have the means to defend you and a district attorney’s office who has all the means in the world to get you convicted,” Van Tassel explained. “Ninety percent of court cases are won by the State. That’s a fact. That is why most poor defendants accept plea deals even if they’re innocent. They don’t stand a chance in a court of law.”
Van Tassel has directed dozens of TV documentaries as an investigative reporter, exploring social issues such as incarceration, human trafficking, and PTSD. She previously helmed the feature doc “The Silenced Walls.” She first came across Lucio’s story while making the doc “Women On Death Row.”
