Nearly 100 Rally Against Death Penalty at Texas Capitol in Austin: 27th Annual March Features Families of the Wrongfully Convicted
Austin is a city in Travis County, Texas. Nearly 100 people gathered on the steps of the Texas Capitol in Austin on Saturday for the annual rally against the death penalty, an event organizers have held for 27 years, FOX 7 Austin reported.
Among the crowd were people who had once sat on death row before being exonerated, as well as family members of people still on death row. Organizers said at least 203 people wrongfully convicted and sentenced to death in the United States have been exonerated.
The family of Melissa Lucio, convicted in the death of her daughter, attended the rally and maintains she is innocent. Lucio's cousin, who traveled from Houston, told the crowd she hopes the protest shows the government that Lucio is innocent and that those wrongfully held should be released.
One speaker also addressed the military execution of former Army psychiatrist Nidal Hasan, questioning the decision to livestream it and calling it a theatrical display of violence.
Families and advocates at the rally said the death penalty is not the answer, and that offenders should instead spend life in a cell.
Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)
Photo: 图：得克萨斯州议会大厦（集会地点）。图片来源：Wikimedia Commons，CC0 授权
