At a press conference Monday, the Rev. Jeff Hood, founder of the Execution Intervention Project, asked Hinojosa to grant a 30-day reprieve to every inmate facing execution. "We believe that that 30-day reprieve will offer space to ask more questions, to engage these situations more thoroughly," Hood said.

The push comes after Democrats won three seats on the all-Republican Texas Court of Criminal Appeals last week, including two held by judges who voted to reject an appeal from death row inmate Melissa Lucio. Lucio, convicted in 2008 of murdering her daughter, had won a recommendation from her trial judge to overturn the conviction, but the court rejected it in September on a 5-4 vote.

Hinojosa, who unseated Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, said during an October CNN appearance that she is personally opposed to the death penalty but would review each case individually. She stopped short of endorsing a blanket ban.

Kristin Houlé Cuellar of the Texas Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty said the new judges could prompt closer scrutiny of capital cases, but she noted that Texas governors have limited power: they may issue 30-day reprieves but can grant clemency only on the recommendation of the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles. The governor appoints the board's members with Senate consent, however, and Cuellar said she hopes for changes there.

"We are optimistic that the board membership can be diversified to include people with different backgrounds and experiences," Cuellar said, citing behavioral mental health expertise and lived experience with the carceral system.

Meanwhile, the state is scheduled to execute Reinaldo Dennes on Nov. 19, its last execution of 2026. Dennes was convicted in 1997 of masterminding a diamond heist that ended in the murder of Janos "Johnny" Szucs and the wounding of a security guard. At his trial, an associate named David Balderas testified about a prior, failed heist, helping prosecutors prove future dangerousness — a finding required for a death sentence in Texas.

Dennes' attorneys have argued that prosecutors falsely presented Balderas as an honest witness who came forward voluntarily, when he had actually been a confidential informant working with Houston police for a decade. State and federal courts have rejected Dennes' requests for a retrial over the alleged false testimony.

The debate over executions in Texas has intensified as the state's political landscape shifts. For decades, Republicans have facilitated what critics call the rubber-stamping of capital punishment cases. Now, with Democrats set to control the governor's office and new judges joining the Court of Criminal Appeals, death penalty opponents see an opening — though the path to systemic change remains constrained by law and the courts.

Hinojosa's transition office did not respond to a request for comment on the moratorium call.