Texas reverend urges Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa to stop executions in the state
(KVIA) – Reverend Dr. Jeff Hood, founder of the Execution Intervention Project, asked Texas Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa to stop executions in the state.
Rev. Dr. Hood is a spiritual advisor who has been present for 14 different executions across the United States.
Monday, Rev. Dr. Hood held a press conference outlining a plan for Hinojosa once she takes office.
“Governor-elect Hinojosa has said that she is opposed to the death penalty,” Hood said. “Now she holds power over the chamber that has killed more people than any other in the country. The only question that remains is whether she will follow her convictions and stop further executions.”
According to the Death Penalty Information Center, Texas has executed more people than any other state since the reinstatement of the death penalty in 1973.
603 people have been executed in Texas since 1976, according to DPIC.
During the press conference, Rev. Dr. Hood referenced an October CNN interview in which Hinojosa said she doesn't personally support the death penalty, but as governor, she would take executions on a case-by-case basis.
"I can tell you that abolitionists across the country, people who care about this issue across the country, are tired of hearing people say that they are morally opposed to executions while allowing executions to continue," Rev. Dr. Hood said.
Rev. Dr. Hood said there are so many people in the pipeline that he thinks there is no way to engage these cases on a case-by-case basis and continue with the pace that is happening in the state.
"There is no case that can be purely observed, purely engaged. So again, if you are talking about engaging this on a case by case basis, then you are talking about a cessation of executions in Texas, at least for the moment," Rev. Dr. Hood said.
Rev. Dr. Hood created a list of asks for Governor-elect Hinojosa:
- Declare a moratorium on executions on day one
- Enact a 30-day reprieve on every execution that comes forward. That time would give the legal system time to consider new evidence and for her to review cases individually.
- Engaging Texas's supply of drugs for executions
- Open up the protocol on execution to the public
- Engage the Board of Pardons and Paroles
- Legislature be given the opportunity to engage whether or not the death penalty is constitutional in Texas
- Veto bills that offers money for executions
Rev. Dr. Hood said he knows that it's not going to be easy.
"The governor elect has consistently said I am morally opposed to the death penalty. What we are asking in this hour is do her morals mean something? And if her morals mean something? Then I have no doubt that there will be a moratorium on executions in Texas, Rev. Dr. Hood said.
ABC-7 has reached out to Governor-elect Gina Hinojosa for an interview.
