Texas lawmaker proposes bill to abolish death penalty in Lone Star State: 'I think sentiment is changing'

A Texas authorities lawmaker has introduced authorities to destruct the decease punishment successful the authorities amid a high-profile decease enactment lawsuit presently unfolding.

Democrat authorities Rep. John Bucy III filed the measure for the upcoming legislative session.

"I deliberation I've been opposed to the decease punishment my full beingness arsenic I've thought astir its use, and should it beryllium successful our society," Bucy said, according to Fox 7.

"Financially, if you conscionable privation to look astatine it economically, we walk much wealth to execute than to support idiosyncratic successful prison, truthful it's truly a lose-lose concern with a precocious hazard involvement if we get it wrong," helium continued.

TEXAS DEATH ROW INMATE'S LAWYER SAYS 'THERE WAS NO CRIME' AS SHE MAKES LAST-DITCH EFFORT TO SAVE HIS LIFE

Photo shows the gurney successful the execution enclosure astatine the Oklahoma State Penitentiary successful McAlester, Oklahoma. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)

This comes aft the Texas Supreme Court cleared the mode past week for the authorities to docket a caller execution day for inmate Robert Roberson, whose archetypal execution was delayed past month.

Roberson is presently connected decease enactment implicit his condemnation successful which prosecutors accidental helium killed his two-year-old daughter, Nikki Curtis, by shaking her to death, known arsenic shaken babe syndrome. But his lawyers accidental Nikki really died from different wellness issues specified arsenic pneumonia and that caller grounds proves his innocence. His lawyers besides said doctors had failed to regularisation retired these different aesculapian explanations for the child's symptoms.

Roberson was scheduled to beryllium enactment to decease connected Oct. 17 earlier the authorities Supreme Court issued a enactment to hold his execution soon earlier it was acceptable to instrumentality place. 

If helium is enactment to death, helium would beryllium the archetypal idiosyncratic successful the U.S. to beryllium executed successful a lawsuit based connected shaken babe syndrome.

More than 80 Texas authorities lawmakers, arsenic good arsenic the detective who helped the prosecution, aesculapian experts, parental rights groups, quality rights groups, bestselling novelist John Grisham and different advocates person called for the authorities to grant Roberson clemency implicit the content that helium is innocent. A radical of authorities lawmakers person besides visited Roberson successful situation to promote him.

"I consciousness similar I've gotten much engaged with this Robert Roberson lawsuit and wanted to marque definite that we're continuing this speech astir the deficiency of humanity tied to the decease penalty," Bucy said.

Texas lawmakers conscionable with Robert Roberson astatine a situation successful Livingston, Texas, Sept. 27, 2024.  (Criminal Justice Reform Caucus via AP)

Texas has executed astir 600 radical since 1982, according to Texas Coalition to Abolish The Death Penalty enforcement manager Kristin Houle Cuellar.

"Which is acold much than immoderate different authorities successful the nation," Houle Cuellar told Fox 7. "We person rather a estimation erstwhile it comes to the usage of the decease punishment successful Texas."

Houle Cuellar said that determination person been less decease sentences successful the authorities successful the past decade, which she partially attributes to the instauration successful 2005 of beingness without parole.

"Prosecutors person utilized that discretion successful opting not to question the decease penalty," Houle Cuellar said. "Even successful astir 30 percent of the cases that they've taken to proceedings wherever they've sought the decease penalty, jurors person rejected it."

Houle Cuellar said that Harris, Dallas, Tarrant and Bexar counties pb the authorities successful decease sentences and much than fractional of each Texas counties person ne'er issued a decease sentence.

Since 2007, aggregate Texas lawmakers person unsuccessfully sought to abolish the decease penalty. But Bucy says determination is present capable momentum regarding the contented to reintroduce authorities to destruct the practice.

TEXAS JUDGE GRANTS INJUNCTION AHEAD OF MAN'S EXECUTION IN 'SHAKEN BABY SYNDROME' CASE

The execution furniture sits bare connected Death Row connected April 25, 1997 astatine Texas Death Row successful Huntsville, Texas. (Getty Images)

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"While it's an uphill conflict to extremity the decease punishment successful Texas, we've seen the fig of executions spell down," helium said. "I deliberation sentiment is changing, and I besides deliberation arsenic we spot these circumstantial cases travel to life, and we commencement learning the circumstantial stories, radical are going to get much and much acrophobic astir the anticipation of getting it wrong."

State Sen. Sarah Eckhardt and authorities Rep. Joe Moody, some Democrats, person filed similar bills to abolish the decease penalty, which volition request to beryllium voted connected by chap lawmakers erstwhile the legislative league begins aboriginal adjacent year.

In different Texas decease enactment case, a justice recovered past period that Melissa Lucio was guiltless successful the 2007 decease of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. Senior State District Judge Arturo Nelson recommended that Lucio's condemnation and decease condemnation beryllium overturned. The justice besides recovered that prosecutors suppressed grounds and testimony, including statements from Lucio's different children, that could enactment the assertion that she was not abusive and that Mariah's decease was accidental from falling down the stairs.