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Texas Engineer Seeks Asylum, Blocks Extradition Over Murder Charge

5/13/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Lee Gilley appeared before the Turin Court of Appeal on May 11, seeking asylum and refusing extradition.
He is a 39-year-old Texas software engineer charged with murder in his pregnant wife’s October 2024 death.
He cut off his ankle monitor on May 1, used a forged Belgian passport to travel through Canada, and was arrested in Milan.
He told the judge he fled fearing death, citing Italy’s abolition of the death penalty.

History

Historical Context

In 1786 Grand Duke Pietro Leopoldo abolished the death penalty in Tuscany, the world’s first modern abolition. Italy cemented that legacy by amending its constitution on 13 October 1994, ending a history of 26 executions since unification. The 1994 reform now underpins the European Court of Human Rights’ asylum rulings, and Lee Gilley invokes it before the Turin Court of Appeal to block U.S. extradition.

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Story summary

Lee Gilley appeared before the Turin Court of Appeal on May 11, seeking asylum and refusing extradition.
He is a 39-year-old Texas software engineer charged with murder in his pregnant wife’s October 2024 death.
He cut off his ankle monitor on May 1, used a forged Belgian passport to travel through Canada, and was arrested in Milan.
He told the judge he fled fearing death, citing Italy’s abolition of the death penalty.

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