Most of the hearing consisted of committee members haggling with Saenz over the technicalities of his ability to cancel the execution date, which was set at his request. They called on the board and Abbott to commute her sentence or at least grant a reprieve.Īt Tuesday’s hearing, Leach and his colleagues on the Interim Study Committee on Criminal Justice Reform implored Saenz, who testified by videoconference, to ask the trial court to withdraw the death warrant for Lucio. Jeff Leach (R-Plano) cast doubt on Lucio’s conviction, drawing attention to the Texas Rangers’ controversial interrogation of her prior to her apparent confession.

In a press conference last month, a group of lawmakers led by Rep. In addition, the emergency room doctor who tried to save Mariah’s life told the jury that he had never seen a more egregious occurrence of child abuse in his decades as a physician.Īfter the case worked its way through the criminal justice system for over 13 years, a Democratic state district judge, Gabriela Garcia, set the execution date for April 27, which is during National Child Abuse Prevention Month.

According to court documents, the forensic pathologist who performed the girl’s autopsy testified that she had been beaten to death. Greg Abbott to spare Melissa Lucio from the death chamber.Ī jury in Cameron County found Lucio guilty of capital murder in 2008 after the death of her two-year-old daughter, Mariah. Austin, TX, ApLawmakers sparred with Cameron County District Attorney Luis Saenz at the Texas Capitol on Tuesday as a bipartisan group of politicians have called on the state Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov.

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