This film illustrates vividly another grotesque miscarriage of justice.

Each aspect of Melissa's case is just as absurd as the one before it. From the DA using her case to manipulate the public into re-electing him(surprise surprise- THIS HAPPENS A LOT!) to having an ME that is known time and time again to rubber stamp what the state/"investigators" want and claims it is child abuse, meanwhile the most parsimonious answer to how Mariah died is not murder where evidence of that CANNOT be found literally anywhere else outside of what Norma Farley argued.

It's hard to understand how people are calling the film biased when the film interviews people on both sides of the issue and puts forth the evidence that the audience can use to formulate their own judgement. In a way, the audience become the jury.

Great film all around!

Regardless of your impression of the cinematic qualities of this documentary, it is worth your time. It was made out of a sense of urgency as the subject was facing a death penalty for a crime that her state couldn't prove she committed.

Get uncomfortable and watch this. You may feel compelled to do something about injustice.

Melissa has too many kids and cannot care for all of them. She takes drugs and hangs out with drug dealers. Her baby Mariah died, either because she fell down a flight or stairs or because Melissa beat her to death.

Let's say it again: Melissa is either directly responsible for beating her child to death or she is responsible for neglecting her to death. The autopsy says Mariah either fell down the stairs repeatedly or was beaten repeatedly. The coroner says she was beaten repeatedly.

Here's the thing. Coroners see a LOT of child abuse. They know what the difference is between a fall down the stairs and repeated injuries,

Does it matter whether Melissa beat the child or someone else did? Either way, Mariah was Melissa's responsibility.

Melissa doesn't ask for an attorney. Melissa confesses that she did it. She is disassociated when she confesses. She is probably disassociated when she beats Mariah. Maybe Alex is being sexually abused and disassociates, too,

Did Melissa get a fair trial? Probably not. Few people in Texas get a fair trial, but the problem here is that we have a dead child and a mountain of physical evidence. We also have a defendant who confessed and who has dissociative states.

If you think every death row case in Texas got a fair trial, Google "Craig Watkins" or "Henry Wade."

Do I think Villalobos was corrupt? I know he was. I KNOW he was. The Zetas owned that part of South Texas when Melissa was tried. Also, he last name "Lucio" was the surname of his congressional opponent,

What happened here is that the defense attorney wanted to be a DA, and he knew neglect was at the heart of the case. He knew that, if Melissa got to go home, it would probably happen again. Melissa wasn't going to come home and be a more attentive mother, and Alexa wasn't going to be less violent.

But Melissa is the one who lost the case for herself.

My heart goes out to Melissa's children. My heart does not go out to Melissa. She is where she needs to be, although I believe she should have gotten a life sentence. She did not intend to kill her child.

Now, instead of piling on the bandwagon to want to "fry" Melissa, how about we concentrate on what we can do to stop another death like poor little Mariah? In Texas, please consider volunteering for CASA, the child advocacy group for abused children. Stop a death like this before it happens.