Photos: Innocence Project\Rep. Jeff Leach
Texas Pastor Jesse Rincones is callling for a halt to the April 27 scheduled execution of Melissa Lucio for a crime that apparently never happened. He released the following statement:
As lead pastor of Lubbock’s Alliance Church and Executive Director of the Hispanic Baptist Convention of Texas, I strive to guide my community toward compassion, forgiveness, and justice. The case of Melissa Lucio, who is scheduled to be executed April 27, implicates all these virtues.
And it’s why I, along with more than 130 other faith leaders representing diverse denominations across this state, have called upon the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Gov. Greg Abbott to grant clemency to Melissa and spare her life.
I know so many across the country will be celebrating various religious holidays: Easter, Passover, and Ramadan. And today, I’m asking you to come together in faith, and join our pleas by signing onto the petition calling on Texas to stop Melissa’s execution — we only have 10 days left.
I believe our justice system should be directed toward improving lives, not destroying life. But regardless of one’s position on the death penalty, Melissa’s case raises too many questions to allow her to be executed. It is intolerable to imagine that our state would execute an innocent person. This should be a subject on which law and faith are aligned in preventing irreparable injustice.
That Melissa Lucio may be innocent of any crime should alone warrant clemency. But it is not the only reason why her case cries out for mercy.
The early Biblical record required a certainty of guilt. Deuteronomy 19:15 says, “A single witness shall not suffice against a person for any crime … Only on the evidence of two witnesses or of three witnesses shall a charge be established.”
This case fails in that regard. Seven Fifth Circuit judges recognized this and wrote that “The State presented no physical evidence or witness testimony establishing that [Melissa] abused Mariah or any of her children, let alone killed Mariah.” The District Attorney that presented her conciliatory statement to the jury as a “confession” and sought the death penalty is serving a 13-year federal prison sentence for bribery and extortion.
I, personally, find it notable that despite spending the past 14 years on death row and facing execution, Melissa has not become embittered. Rather, in 2014 she embraced her faith and began to walk with God.
As people of faith, we understand the basic Biblical premise that mankind is broken by sin. That is why God removes vengeance from our hands. Broken people in a broken system produce an unjust result. With a convicted and corrupt district attorney, a coercive interrogation that exploited her vulnerabilities, failure to consider additional evidence pointing to her innocence, and more, it is evident that there are too many broken pieces in this process for there to be a just result.
Allowing Melissa to be executed would be grossly unfair and undermine a culture that values the life of every person.
So please, take a moment right now to sign the petition calling on Texas to stop the execution of Melissa Lucio, which is scheduled to happen in just 10 days.
Thank you for standing with Melissa,
Pastor Jesse Rincones Alliance Church, Lubbock, Texas
