A Texas state lawmaker has launched laws to eradicate the loss of life penalty within the state amid a high-profile loss of life row case at the moment unfolding.
Democrat state Rep. John Bucy III filed the invoice for the upcoming legislative session.
“I think I’ve been opposed to the death penalty my whole life as I’ve thought about its use, and should it exist in our society,” Bucy stated, based on Fox 7.
“Financially, if you just want to look at it economically, we spend more money to execute than to keep someone in prison, so it’s really a lose-lose situation with a high risk stake if we get it wrong,” he continued.
Picture exhibits the gurney within the execution chamber on the Oklahoma State Penitentiary in McAlester, Oklahoma. (AP Picture/Sue Ogrocki, File)
This comes after the Texas Supreme Courtroom cleared the best way final week for the state to schedule a brand new execution date for inmate Robert Roberson, whose preliminary execution was delayed final month.
Roberson is at the moment on loss of life row over his conviction during which prosecutors say he killed his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, by shaking her to loss of life, often called shaken child syndrome. However his legal professionals say Nikki really died from different well being points resembling pneumonia and that new proof proves his innocence. His legal professionals additionally stated docs had didn’t rule out these different medical explanations for the kid’s signs.
Roberson was scheduled to be put to loss of life on Oct. 17 earlier than the state Supreme Courtroom issued a keep to delay his execution shortly earlier than it was set to happen.
If he’s put to loss of life, he could be the primary individual within the U.S. to be executed in a case based mostly on shaken child syndrome.
Greater than 80 Texas state lawmakers, in addition to the detective who helped the prosecution, medical specialists, parental rights teams, human rights teams, bestselling novelist John Grisham and different advocates have referred to as for the state to grant Roberson clemency over the idea that he’s harmless. A bunch of state lawmakers have additionally visited Roberson in jail to encourage him.
“I feel like I’ve gotten more engaged with this Robert Roberson case and wanted to make sure that we’re continuing this conversation about the lack of humanity tied to the death penalty,” Bucy stated.
Texas lawmakers meet with Robert Roberson at a jail in Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024. (Legal Justice Reform Caucus through AP)
Texas has executed practically 600 individuals since 1982, based on Texas Coalition to Abolish The Dying Penalty government director Kristin Houle Cuellar.
“Which is far more than any other state in the nation,” Houle Cuellar informed Fox 7. “We have quite a reputation when it comes to the use of the death penalty in Texas.”
Houle Cuellar stated that there have been fewer loss of life sentences within the state within the final decade, which she partially attributes to the introduction in 2005 of life with out parole.
“Prosecutors have used that discretion in opting not to seek the death penalty,” Houle Cuellar stated. “Even in about 30 percent of the cases that they’ve taken to trial where they’ve sought the death penalty, jurors have rejected it.”
Houle Cuellar stated that Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar counties lead the state in loss of life sentences and greater than half of all Texas counties have by no means issued a loss of life sentence.
Since 2007, a number of Texas lawmakers have unsuccessfully sought to abolish the loss of life penalty. However Bucy says there’s now sufficient momentum relating to the problem to reintroduce laws to eradicate the follow.
TEXAS JUDGE GRANTS INJUNCTION AHEAD OF MAN’S EXECUTION IN ‘SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME’ CASE
The execution mattress sits empty on Dying Row on April 25, 1997 at Texas Dying Row in Huntsville, Texas. (Getty Photos)
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“While it’s an uphill battle to end the death penalty in Texas, we’ve seen the number of executions go down,” he stated. “I think sentiment is changing, and I also think as we see these specific cases come to life, and we start learning the specific stories, people are going to get more and more concerned about the possibility of getting it wrong.”
State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt and state Rep. Joe Moody, each Democrats, have filed related payments to abolish the loss of life penalty, which can must be voted on by fellow lawmakers when the legislative session begins early subsequent 12 months.
In one other Texas loss of life row case, a choose discovered final month that Melissa Lucio was harmless within the 2007 loss of life of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. Senior State District Decide Arturo Nelson beneficial that Lucio’s conviction and loss of life sentence be overturned. The choose additionally discovered that prosecutors suppressed proof and testimony, together with statements from Lucio’s different youngsters, that might help the declare that she was not abusive and that Mariah’s loss of life was unintended from falling down the steps.
