Listen to Rep Jeff Leach say he supports a moratorium on executions. He says it at 4 minute 30 seconds into the video. Then write him and thank him for his efforts in the cases of Melissa Lucio and Jeff Wood and encourage him to file a bill to enact a moratorium on executions.
Use this form on the Texas House website to contact Rep. Leach.
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.
Lawrence Foster, the grandfather of Kenneth Foster, jr, has passed away. He advocated tirelessly to prevent his grandson’s execution (which was commuted to life only six hours before the execution was scheduled to take place on August 30, 2007). He lobbied legislators and the governor, and attended numerous rallies, and other events. Here he is speaking to the press along with State Rep Harold Dutton at a press conference in the Texas Capitol to advocate for a bill to end the death penalty in law of parties cases. May everyone have someone on their side in rough times as true, faithful and courageous as Mr Foster!
The Law of Parties death penalty reform bill HB 1340 by Rep Jeff Leach, Rep Harold Dutton and 8 other co-authors and that passed the House on an overwhelming vote has been referred to the Senate Committee on Jurisprudence. It must still have a hearing in the committee, then pass the committee, and go to the full Senate for a vote.
The bill by Representative Jeff Leach would prohibit the imposition of the death penalty in law of parties cases in which the person charged under the law of parties did not kill anyone or intend anyone to be killed. It passed the full House on second reading 139-4. It passed on third reading the next day and has now been sent to the Senate.
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