The Texas Republican, who spearheaded a bipartisan effort to delay the execution of a Mexican American woman on Wednesday amid growing evidence of her innocence, described the case as “the most alarming I’ve ever seen, probably the most alarming in our state’s history.”
In an interview with the Guardian, Jeff Leach, a Republican member of the Texas House of Representatives, said that even strong supporters of the death penalty – as he once thought of himself – are very concerned about the impending execution. Melissa Lucio, 52, must be killed by lethal injection for the murder of her two-year-old daughter Mariah, but new scientific evidence suggests the young child died accidentally after falling.
Leach said that a probably innocent woman was “on the verge of being – let’s not throw the words away – being killed by the state.” He said the many mistakes made in prosecuting Lucio had given him a “big break”, forcing him to rethink his support for the death penalty.
“I am not ashamed to say that I believed in the death penalty for the most heinous cases. But this case shakes my confidence in the system. “It fails Melissa and the victim of the tragedy, Mariah, at every turn,” he said.
The legislator had strong words to say about the torturous wait that Lucio endured in his last hours before her scheduled execution.
“That’s barbaric,” Leach said. “It simply came to our notice then. They have all the information they need for weeks – just someone needs to step up and make the right decision. “
The Republican MP went through a number of failures in the prosecution. He said: “If it was just an interrogation, or just a new scientific piece of evidence, or just a juror, and not five who now said they were sorry for their decision, then we could talk. But when you have all these things, when the system is broken, then it’s very alarming. “
Leach’s comments came as Lucio’s battle to save his own life entered its final hectic hours. Her lawyers are fighting on several fronts in hopes of postponing the execution.
The Texas Pardon and Parole Council is meeting Monday to discuss Lucio’s case, and his recommendation will be passed to Republican Gov. Greg Abbott for his final word. The abbot has the power to delay the execution, grant pardon to Lucio or allow the trial to continue in the death chamber.
Jeff Leach with Melissa Lucio in prison. Photo: AP
Legal appeals have also been filed with the local district court in Cameron County and the Texas Court of Appeal in Austin. A new dossier on Monday reiterated many inconsistencies in the prosecution’s case, including evidence that Lucio’s confessions were violent and that Mariah died of her injuries when she fell down a steep staircase instead of her mother’s.
Leach is at the forefront of Texas lawmakers’ efforts to persuade authorities to postpone the execution. He organized a letter to the pardon board, signed by 80 members of the House, 32 of whom are Republicans. A similar letter was sent by 20 Texas senators, eight Republicans.
In the Chamber’s letter, lawmakers said Lucio was treated differently by prosecutors than her husband, who is also responsible for Mariah’s care. Lucio has no previous history of violence and her children tell her she has never abused them; under contract, her husband had a history of assault, but is now a single man who has only served a four-year sentence for endangering children.
The extreme degree of bipartisan agreement, with more than half of the legislature supporting calls for residence, is extremely rare in such a torn state. However, Leach said he was not surprised.
“I know our country is quite divided and we have our battles,” he said. “But when something as clear as this is, I know that my legislative colleagues on both sides of the aisle are ready to do the right thing.”
Leach was one of several Texas lawmakers to visit Lucio earlier this month at the Mountain View department in Gatesville, where the women sentenced to death are housed. He told the Guardian that they had prayed together and he took her hand.
“Her faith is incredibly strong. She is comforted by the prayers of millions around the world, so it was an amazing moment. ”
During the meeting, Lucio invited Leach to attend her execution on Wednesday if that happened. “If this continues, I will be there,” he said. “But I hope this is a trip I shouldn’t make.”
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