Interview
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Director Sabrina Van Tassel is delighted with the cancellation of the execution of Melissa Lucio, to which she has devoted a documentary, and sees it as a turning point in the history of the fight against the death penalty in Texas.
Months of torment and uncertainty, and a salutary decision at the last moment: scheduled for this Wednesday, the execution of Melissa Lucio has been canceled in extremisMonday, by a Texas appeals court. “A Huge Victory” according to Sabrina Van Tassel, who told in a documentary the dramatic story of this mother of fourteen children accused of being responsible for the death of her 2-year-old daughter in 2007 and sentenced to death the following year, after a speedy trial and dependent. But the road to freedom will still be long, recalls the director, who has become a tireless activist within the collective #FreeMelissaLucio, at the end of an interview with the person concerned.
You were able to visit Melissa Lucio on Tuesday, the day after her execution date was cancelled. How is she ?
She is extremely happy, relieved, as if she were on another planet. It’s a huge victory. When I saw her on death row, we started screaming with joy. We weren’t supposed to know each other in life, but we did something amazing together…