Melissa Lucio was two days away from being put to death in Texas for the murder of her 2-year-old daughter when an appeals court intervened in 2022. Now, a judge says Lucio never committed the crime at all.

Efforts to free a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter have received a significant boost.

A death row inmate convicted of killing her toddler daughter is “actually innocent” of murder and should be freed from custody, the prisoner's trial judge said in documents unearthed on Thursday.

A Texas court is set to decide the fate of Lucio, whose conviction relied on coerced confession, suppressed evidence, and false testimony.

Judge Arturo Nelson said there was clear and convincing evidence that the death of Lucio’s 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, was caused by a fall.

Lucio has been on death row in Texas since 2008. In 2022, the state Court of Criminal Appeals issued a stay of execution in the case. The Court of Criminal Appeals ordered the original trial court to consider whether Lucio was actually innocent and whether state prosecutors had presented false testimony and hidden evidence from the defense.

Efforts to free Melissa Lucio, a Texas woman whose execution was delayed in 2022 amid growing doubts she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter, were significantly bolstered after a judge concluded that she is “actually innocent” of capital murder.

"After 16 years on death row, it's time for the nightmare to end," Vanessa Potkin, one of Lucio's attorneys said.