The very first event that Rep Leach attended at the Texas Capitol on the issue of the death penalty was when Texas Moratorium Network invited him to speak at a press conference concerning the bill to end the death penalty under law of parties cases during our Lobby Day in 2017 where he spoke about the case of Jeff Wood, who is on death row under the law of parties.
In a startling revelation on Inside Texas Politics, state Rep. Jeff Leach said he would support a pause on all executions in Texas.
What’s more, the Collin County Republican says he has a number of conservative colleagues who support the death penalty who would also back such a moratorium.
“Right now, going through what I just went through and seeing what I just saw, I would,” Leach said on Inside Texas Politics. “I am, again, a supporter of the death penalty in the most heinous cases. But that is contingent upon the system working, the system being trustworthy, fair and reliable, us ensuring beyond a shadow of a doubt guilt of the inmate”
“And right now, I am unsure of that. My trust in the system is shaky,” he added.
Leach was at the forefront of stopping Melissa Lucio’s execution, which had been scheduled for April 27. But the Texas Court of Criminal Appeals halted it two days before, opening up the possibility of a new trial amid growing doubts about whether Lucio killed her 2-year-old daughter, Mariah, in 2007.
“We’ve got to look at every part of our system. And Melissa’s case, where the system failed her at every turn, is a great example of that,” he said.
