Supporters

Prominent Bipartisan Supporters Call for Stay of Execution

Prominent groups and individuals have come forward to urge Governor Rick Perry to grant a stay of execution to Humberto Leal.

The bipartisan supporters include former U.S. diplomats, retired military leaders, former judges and prosecutors, leading organizations representing Americans abroad, American tourists and journalists who were detained overseas, and human rights and civil rights organizations. These diverse groups and individuals agree that American citizens traveling abroad, from business travelers and members of our military to tourists and volunteers, will be put at risk if Mr. Leal is executed after the denial of his consular rights.

Read their letters to Governor Perry and the Parole Board here (all documents in PDF except where noted otherwise):

  • Former Diplomats and State Department Officials, including: Harry Barnes, Jr., former Director General of the Foreign Service and Ambassador to Chile, India, and Romania; John B. Bellinger, partner at Arnold & Porter in Washington, D.C., and former Legal Advisor for the Department of State during the second term of the Bush Administration; David E. Birenbaum, former Ambassador to the United Nations; James R. Jones, former Ambassador to Mexico and former Member of U.S. Congress; Thomas Pickering, former Undersecretary of State for Political Affairs and Ambassador to the United Nations; and William H. Taft, former Legal Advisor to U.S. Department of State and Ambassador to NATO.
  • Retired Military Leaders, including: Rear Admiral Don Guter, Rear Admiral John D. Hutson, Brigadier General James P. Cullen, Brigadier General David R. Irvine, Brigadier General Murray G. Sagsveen, and Colonel Lawrence B. Wilkerson.
  • Former Judges and Prosecutors, including: Honorable Charles F. Baird; Hon. William G. Bassler; Former U.S. Attorney A. Bates Butler III; Former New Jersey Attorney General Robert J. Del Tufo; Hon. Bruce J. Einhorn; Hon. Shilrey M. Hufstedler; Hon. John J. Gibbons; Hon. Nathaniel R. Jones; Hon. Gerald Kogan; Former U.S. Attorney Kenneth J. Mighell; Hon. Stephen M. Orlofsky; Former Assistant U.S. Attorney Mark Osler; Former U.S. Attorney H. James Pickerstein; Former FBI Director Hon. William S. Sessions; Former California Attorney General John Van de Kamp; Former Governor of Texas and Texas Attorney General Mark White; Hon. Michael Zimmerman.
  • Americans Abroad Associations, including: Association of Americans Resident Overseas; American Citizens Abroad; and Federation of American Women's Clubs Overseas, Inc.
  • Americans who were detained abroad, including Billy Hayes, an American tourist detained in Istanbul whose terrifying imprisonment in a Turkish prison is the subject of the acclaimed book "Midnight Express."
  • Victims' organizations who represent survivors of sexual abuse in Texas and nationwide are also calling on the Texas Board of Pardons and Paroles and Governor Rick Perry to stay the execution of Mr. Leal. The organizations include Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests, Bishop Accountability, National Survivors Advocates Coalition, and Male Survivor. Read their letter (DOC).
  • The Cardinal and Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Houston-Galveston have additionally delivered a letter to Governor Perry calling for clemency. Read their letter here.
  • Letter from Texas State Senator Rodney Ellis to Governor Rick Perry (PDF)
Humberto Leal with Sister Germaine Corbin on death row
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