Austin, TX
Supporters rally in last ditch effort to stop Melissa Lucio’s scheduled execution
A day of motion was organized throughout the nation as time runs out for the girl some consider was wrongfully convicted of killing her youngest daughter.
AUSTIN, Texas — Supporters of demise row inmate Melissa Lucio gathered on the Governor’s Mansion Saturday afternoon in an effort to cease her execution scheduled for subsequent week.
‘It has been very emotional’: John Lucio travels to Gatesville to go to mother Melissa on demise row
The rally in Austin is only one of greater than a dozen being held throughout a number of states on April 23 as a part of a nationwide day of motion to save lots of Lucio.
It is the most recent effort underway to save lots of Lucio, who was convicted of killing her youngest daughter in 2007. She is scheduled to be executed on April 27.
Her case has drawn consideration from many, together with members of the Texas Legislature and celebrities alike after supporters identified flaws within the case and raised questions on the way it was dealt with on the time. Family members mentioned the demise of Lucio’s daughter was an accident after she fell down the steps. The questions raised have consequently drawn skepticism about her precise guilt within the case.
On Friday, supporters by the group Dying Penalty Motion delivered a petition to the Cameron County District Legal professional Luis Saenz calling on him to rescind the execution warrant and reinvestigate the case. They mentioned Saenz has the facility to cease Lucio’s execution by withdrawing that warrant. The petition they gathered included greater than 65,000 signatures. A number of different petitions have been delivered to the Cameron County DA, totaling greater than 340,000 signatures.
“We’ve affected this complete group simply by this one accident and simply because [the] DA refuses to simply say ‘Hey, possibly we made a mistake.’ You understand,” mentioned Maggie Luna, an organizer for the rally in Austin. “It is a life. We can not return and say ‘Oh, oops we acquired it incorrect.”
The group can be planning to ship a petition to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott on Monday, two days earlier than Lucio’s execution. With a view to cancel the execution, the board should subject a suggestion to the governor’s workplace for Abbott to grant clemency.
A bipartisan group of Texas lawmakers have additionally urged state leaders to intervene and cease the execution. The Texas Home Committee on Prison Justice held a listening to on the demise penalty on April 12 the place a juror within the authentic case testified and referred to as for a brand new trial. That was after 5 of the jurors mentioned they weren’t conscious of all of the details on the time and wouldn’t have sentenced her to demise had they identified then what they know now.
Greater than 20 Texas senators additionally joined in, sending a letter to the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. Within the letter, the senators beneficial that Lucio both get her sentence commuted or that she get a reprieve.
Consideration was drawn to the case after Hulu launched “The State of Texas vs. Melissa,” which detailed how she could possibly be harmless. In March, John Oliver mentioned her case on his HBO present “Final Week Tonight” throughout an episode centered on wrongful convictions. Kim Kardashian has additionally expressed her help for Lucio and has signed a petition urging Abbott to cease Lucio’s execution.
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