DALLAS — The fight to save the life of death row inmate Melissa Lucio has renewed the belief in conservative state Rep. Jeff Leach that the Texas capital punishment system needs extensive reforms.
Leach, a Plano Republican, has long been a proponent of the death penalty, but the Lucio case has added to his heartburn over executions in the Lone Star State. And like other death penalty cases and issues before it, the effort to save Lucio has showcased the growing bipartisan movement for criminal justice reform, even in deeply conservative Texas.
“It gives me great pause and alarm,” Leach told me during a segment on Sunday’s edition of Lone Star Politics, a political show produced by KXAS (NBC 5) and The Dallas Morning News. “I’ve historically been a supporter of the death penalty in the most heinous cases, but when you’ve got a system that in this case is broken, and it’s not just one thing that’s broken it, literally the system has failed Ms. Lucio at every turn. So yes, it’s caused me pause and great alarm.”
On Monday Leach delivered good news to Lucio. A Texas appeals court delayed her execution amid doubts about whether she fatally beat her 2-year-old daughter. The case has attracted the attention of lawmakers and entertainers. And some jurors who convicted her have now expressed concern about their verdict.
With the stay in place, a lower court can now review Lucio’s claims that new evidence in her case would exonerate her, according to The Associated Press. Monday’s action came as Lucio was set for lethal injection on Wednesday for the 2007 death of her daughter Mariah in Harlingen.
Leach and El Paso Democrat Joe Moody have led a bipartisan coalition of lawmakers trying to save Lucio’s life. And on Monday Leach telephoned Lucia, who had not yet heard about the stay of execution.
“Oh my God,” Lucio cried during the call. “That is wonderful. What does that mean?”
“Well, it means you’re going to wake up on Thursday morning,” Leach said.
He added: “This isn’t the end. We’re going continue to work together to make sure that the right thing is done, that hopefully you’re ultimately free.”
Lucio’s case signals how conservatives like Leach are changing their views on criminal justice issues.
“I’m not the only conservative death penalty supporter who has great concern about the way we, no pun intended, execute the death penalty in Texas,” Leach said. “We policymakers have an obligation not just to speak up on Melissa’s behalf, but to speak up on behalf of all death row inmates and the victims of these crimes.”
That statement alone shows the evolution of thought for some conservatives who often take a tough stand on crime and punishment. Lucio’s case, as well as others, reveals flaws in the criminal justice system. And Leach was horrified at the prospect of Texas putting an innocent woman to death.
Leach other lawmakers had planned to meet Lucio in Huntsville on the day of her execution and hold a news conference afterward. But all the while they hoped that a stay would be granted.
Leach said executing an innocent person is “a violation of their constitutional rights” and it “deprives the victim of the crime ultimate justice.”
“I’m absolutely concerned,” Leach said. “I’m not going to rest until we do something about it.”
Moody said Texas House members, with strong support from Leach, have already made strides by passing an array of death penalty reform bills. But most of the legislation, which included protections for the mentally ill, died in the Senate.
Still, Moody said his efforts with Leach have led to forming a bipartisan criminal justice reform caucus.
“For someone like me in the minority, I realized if I want these policy outcomes, it means you have to have a bipartisan coalition to do it,” Moody said. “It doesn’t happen without Republican leadership and Jeff has been has been exceedingly bold on issues around the death penalty.”
Moody said there’s still a long way to go to get lawmakers to approve reforms and get them signed by the Texas governor.
“I don’t think we’d have the conversation about it today, if we didn’t have people like Jeff Leach talking about it,” Moody said. “Abolishing the death penalty isn’t really even a particularly popular idea on the Democratic side of the aisle, so the fact that he’s been willing to do it on the Republican side of the aisle, it allows these issues to see the light of day.”
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