On April 27, the South Texas lady convicted of killing her 2-year-old baby Mariah in 2007 is ready to die by deadly injection. However advocates say her daughter died after an unintended fall down the steps. They argue that Mariah’s loss of life was a tragedy, one which Lucio shouldn’t should pay for together with her personal life.
Eighty-three state representatives lately wrote to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles asking that Lucio be granted a reprieve or clemency. Now, greater than half of the state Senate is becoming a member of the motion.
In a letter Wednesday, 20 Texas senators requested the board to cease a “miscarriage of justice” that would work to erode the general public’s belief within the state’s authorized system. Many authorized specialists have questions concerning Lucio’s guilt, and her case has gained renewed curiosity because of a Hulu documentary.
Led by Brownsville state Sen. Eddie Lucio Jr., who will not be associated to Melissa Lucio, the lawmakers insisted that capital punishment wouldn’t translate to justice for Mariah.
“As a substitute, it is going to trigger extra struggling for her siblings, grandmother, father, aunts, and uncles, who misplaced Mariah 14 years in the past and who’re determined to not lose one other member of the family,” the letter reads. “A commutation, or at a minimal, a reprieve, would forestall additional hurt to a household that has skilled super hardship already.”
The state should be certain that it by no means executes somebody who’s harmless, the letter states. Though eyewitness accounts level to the truth that Mariah fell, there aren’t any accounts that point out Lucio had dedicated homicide.
“Ms. Lucio’s case is one that provides even proponents of the loss of life penalty pause,” the letter continued. “Docs who lately reviewed the post-mortem — together with a number one specialist from The College of Texas Medical Department — concluded that the jury heard false testimony about whether or not Mariah was abused.”
Some North Texas lawmakers have joined Lucio in signing the letter, together with Republican Muenster state Sen. Drew Springer and Dallas Democrats Royce West and Nathan Johnson.
Bipartisanship was additionally current in a separate letter signed by 83 state representatives final month.
An ideal @wfaa replace tonight on our continued combat for justice for #MelissaLucio and her daughter Mariah. We’re prayerful, hopeful and expectant. And we aren’t letting up. Catch my full interview with @JasonWhitely on WFAA Inside Texas Politics this Sunday morning. #txlege pic.twitter.com/wG3LoWaT3I
— Jeff Leach (@leachfortexas) April 14, 2022
Republican state Rep. Jeff Leach of Plano, who helped to spearhead the decrease chamber’s effort, stated throughout an interview with WFAA that the legislators will press on. “The April 27 execution date remains to be set,” Leach stated, “and till the pause button is pushed and it’s faraway from the calendar, we’re not going to let up and we aren’t going to relaxation.”
